Corrupted Sorcery
by Southern Steel
Summary: A cheery morning suddenly goes bad as Merlin is attacked by bandits in the woods. When he is placed under a spell, secrets will be revealed, friendships and trusts will be threatened, and Camelot will fall. Can Merlin fix his mistakes or is Albion doomed?
1. Chapter 1: Bandits in the Woods

_Corrupted Sorcery _

_**Setting: **__**After season 4. **_

_**Spoiler Alerts: **__**Pretty much every season, especially season 4, though it shouldn't be to too bad. Mostly just spoilers for the last episode of season 4. **_

_**Pairings: **__**Arthur/Gwen, though very, very little since that's not what this story is focusing on. **_

_**Major Characters: **__**Merlin, Morgana, Arthur, and Gwaine. **_

_**Warnings: **__**Dark Merlin, gore, battles, ect. **_

_**Disclaimer: **__**I own nothing you recognize. **_

_**Author's Note: **__**So I've been watching a lot of dark Merlin videos on youtube and this idea came from that. Kinda surprised me actually that I could come up with a dark Merlin story when I usually hate those ideas. Oh well, those youtube videos made him look so cool as an even bad dude that I had to give it a try. Anyways, I'll shut up now and get on with the first chapter of Corrupted Sorcery. **_

_Chapter 1: Bandits in the Woods _

The sun slowly rose in the sky, casting a cheery glow across the gated city of Camelot. It was a cool spring morning, but the sun's rays told of a warmer afternoon. Camelot was still and quiet, no one was yet out and about as it was still just early morning. The only movements and sounds came from the horse stables were a tired young man was attempting to saddle a not-too-pleased horse.

"Oh come on, Anwen." Merlin said with a yawn. "I don't want to be up either, but I have to get these herbs for Gaius before his royal pratness gives me a list of chores to do."

The horse just neighed and nipped at the boy's arm. Merlin just sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. He stepped backwards away from Anwen and folded his arms, letting the horse tip the saddle and blanket off once more. Anwen looked back over at Merlin and neighed softly before shaking her mane. Merlin shook his head before glancing around and letting a grin spread across his face.

"Cyfrwy y ceffyl." Merlin's voice was low, almost a whisper.

His blue eyes flashed gold and he watched in satisfaction as the fallen blanket and saddle magically rose in the air and went to the horses back. Anwen didn't have time to react before she was saddled. She let out an annoyed whinny and shook her mane at Merlin, who just grinned and patted her on the neck.

"Sorry girl." He said as he mounted. "Let's just keep this our little secret, how about it?"

Anwen just neighed and shook her mane once more. Merlin laughed, taking the horse's response as a "I won't tell" and gently edged her forward and out of the stable. He let the horse go at her own pace—a nice gentle trot—down the streets. A few early rises were out tending to chores and Merlin gave them a cheery wave and a smile. He was in the lower town when a little girl, about six or seven years old, ran out in front of his horse, causing her to rear slightly in surprise.

"Whoa, girl." Merlin said soothingly, patting the horse and steering her away from the little girl who had frozen in surprise and fear. "It's all right Anwen."

The horse shook her mane a couple of times and sidestepped slightly, before calming down.

"Good girl." Merlin said with a smile, patting the horse lovingly. He turned and smiled down at the little girl who was looking curiously up at him. "Good morning, Amaya."

"Good mowning, Mewin." The girl said, smiling brightly up at him, revealing two missing front teeth. "Where you going?"

"To get some herbs for Gaius." Merlin replied, grinning at the girl's slurred speech. "Where are you going?"

"I get to help Aunt Mawy with her store." Amaya's announced excitedly, referring to her Aunt Mary's clothing shop. "She's going to let me help pick people's clothes out!"

"That's great!" Merlin replied. "Tell her I said hi, will you?"

"Sure!" Amaya cried as she started to run off. "Bye bye Mewin!"

"Bye Amaya." Merlin called after her.

He clicked his tongue and Anwen started back at a trot. He got out of Camelot quickly and headed toward the woods about five miles away. It wasn't a long ride, and was one that he quite enjoyed. He'd never admit it, but he really did love getting out of the castle and going for a ride…so long as that ride didn't end in carrying dead animals across his back.

Merlin took a deep breath and relaxed as the horse trotted along. He really did love his horse; well, technically she was Arthur's, but no one ever rode her except Merlin. Arthur had seen to that. So Merlin considered Anwen as his horse. And she clearly thought the same for she threw a horse fit every time someone other than Merlin would try and ride her. Only Gwaine and Arthur had ever managed to ride Anwen when Merlin wasn't around to control her.

Despite what Arthur said about his horsemanship, Merlin was quite good with animals, especially horses. And kids. He was great with kids. Like little Amaya back at the lower town. Oftentimes when Arthur hadn't loaded him down with chores—or when he just decided to not do them and say he did—he would go down to the Lower Town and play with the children. They loved when he came down and they always asked him to tell his stories. He was quite a good story teller too, though the kids would never know that the stories of the prince and his manservant on their many adventures were true stories of him and Arthur. Minus the magic part. As bad as Merlin wanted to, he knew the children were too young to keep their mouths shut and would repeat his stories. He didn't want to risk even mentioning magic around them for fear of word getting to Arthur. Arthur wasn't his father, but he still didn't want to have to make Arthur face the decision of whether or not to arrest a young child for telling stories of magic.

Merlin sighed and smiled. It really was a beautiful day. Already the weather was beginning to warm up and the sun felt good on his exposed skin. It was days like this when he wasn't saving King Arthur's royal backside that he felt truly at home. Sure, he missed Ealdor, and he especially missed his mother, but Camelot became more of his home each and every day.

It didn't take him long to reach the forest. It was a deep forest, and the sun cast shadows that on normal days would have made Merlin nervous. But today was just too fine a day and Merlin started to hum as he steered Anwen down a narrow dirt path. He didn't go too far, only a couple hundred yards or so. When he reached the spot he was looking for—a small clearing with plenty of vegetation between the large trees—he dismounted and tied Anwen to a root that was sticking out of the ground. She whinnied and shook her mane in disapproval, but Merlin just laughed and patted her lovingly.

"I won't be too long girl," he said softly. "Just have to collect a few herbs and then we can go on that ride I promised before heading back to Camelot to serve the royal prat."

Anwen whinnied again and nipped at Merlin, who easily backed away with a laugh. He grabbed the basket and turned around and started toward the spot where he knew the herbs he was looking for where. Sure enough, between two of the largest trees was a big bunch of ground ivy just ready to be used in some of Gaius's tea. He placed the basket on the ground and knelt beside it, carefully picking bits of the ground ivy as he did.

He hadn't been there long, only about five minutes or so, when the sound of a breaking branch interrupted the silence of the woods. Merlin sat up quickly and glanced around frantically, trying to find the source of the noise. A small brown bird hopped into the clearing and Merlin breathed a sigh of relief. Humming to himself, Merlin turned back to his work of picking ground ivy.

A loud shout suddenly broke through the air. Merlin spun around, falling backwards onto the ivy. He stumbled backwards, trying to get away from the large man with red hair wielding a sword coming after him. Behind the running man stood four other men, all holding swords at the ready, but standing where they were.

The red haired man shouted again as he brought his sword crashing down at Merlin, who rolled away quickly and got to his feet. The man spun around and swung out with his sword, cutting Merlin's shirt as he barely dodged the blade.

"What are you doing?" Merlin cried out, ducking as the sword swung at his head.

The man didn't reply, and just kept swinging. Merlin, use to dodging from his training with Arthur, narrowly dodged each swing before he was backed into a tree. The man grinned and let out a harsh laugh before swinging what he believed would be the death blow.

Merlin reacted without thinking. His eyes glowed gold and the man was sent flying backwards, his sword falling to the ground, until he hit a tree behind him, knocking the bandit unconscious. Merlin bit back a groan and took a step forward as the other four bandits looked at each other nervously before making their move.

The remaining bandits spread out, trying to surround the young warlock. Merlin just sighed as the four all charged at him with a yell. He threw his hand out, his eyes glowing gold, and the four bandits all flew backwards, falling to the ground unconscious. Merlin stood there staring at their bodies for a moment, his eyes fading back to blue.

"Why is it always me?" he asked with a shake of his head.

He turned back to the ivy and groaned when he saw that his basket had overturned and the ivy had fallen to the ground, crushed and of no use anymore.

"Just my luck." Merlin sighed and bent to pick the basket up.

Basket in hand, he turned and started to head toward his horse when something hit him in the back of the head. Merlin felt the blow and felt himself fall to the ground, but the darkness overtook him before he hit.

**Spell Translations **

_(Taken from Google translate, so if the Welsh is off—which it most likely is, please correct me if it is—blame Google translate 'cause that's all I got. I also used Welsh because I always heard that the Arthurian legend took place in Wales and Britain, so it seems like spells the "real" Merlin would have used would have been in Welsh or something. So yeah, I'm going with that.) _

**Cyfrwy y ceffyl—**_Saddle this horse. _

**Anwen: **_Very Beautiful (Ok, so this is the horse's name, but it's in Welsh—according to the site I found—and I felt like sharing. Please correct me if this is wrong, I'm not good at languages at all.) _


	2. Chapter 2: Return of an Old Friend

_**Thank you so much to all who read the last chapter and who put this story on their story alerts and favorites! I wasn't expecting that at all, but it sure made a good start to the day to wake up and have a bunch of emails about how this story has been put on their story alerts and favorited. Special thank you to DramaQueen for the kind review. I'm glad you like the story! :)**_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize…no matter how much I wish I did. **_

_Chapter 2: The Return of an Old Friend _

Merlin didn't know how long he had been out, though his best guess was at least an hour. He groaned as his head pounded and he briefly wondered what had hit him, before deciding that _who_ had hit him was more important than _what_. His eyes opened, before shutting quickly as the bright light blinded him, increasing the pounding in his head. Merlin bit back a groan as he opened his eyes slowly, letting them get use to the light.

Confusion set in as Merlin realized he wasn't in the small clearing in the woods anymore. Instead, he was at the edge of a large meadow that was surrounded by forest. It wasn't until then that Merlin realized he was standing up. Merlin looked down, trying to figure out why he wasn't laying on the ground, and was shocked to find himself tied to a tree.

'_Good going, Merlin._' He chided silently as he struggled vainly against the ropes. _'Get knocked out and show up in a random meadow and be surprised to be tied up. Maybe you really are as stupid as Arthur says.' _

Merlin shook his head, regretting it as the pounding became worse and his vision blurred slightly. He waited a few moments and was relieved when the pounding lessoned and his vision cleared quickly. Looking around slowly, Merlin noted that the meadow was one he had never been in before, which was strange considering how often he traipsed the woods with Arthur. He saw no one, which confused him even more. As far as he could tell, he was alone.

Merlin grinned slightly, glad for small miracles. He looked around again and, when he was sure he was alone, moved his hand so they were just barely touching the rope.

"Rhyddhau mi."

Merlin frowned when nothing happened.

"Rhyddhau mi." he repeated.

Still nothing happened. Merlin could feel his panic rising as he realized his magic wasn't responding.

"Torrwch y rhaffau!" he tried, his voice rising. "Rhyddhau i mi o'r bondiau!"

"Give it up, Merlin." A female voice laughed from somewhere behind him. "Your magic won't work. Those ropes have been enchanted to bind all magic except my own."

Merlin felt his blood grow cold as he recognized the voice.

"Morgana." His voice came out low, more of a breath than anything. "But how? You were dying!"

"Yes, I do seem to have a thing with escaping death, don't I?" Morgana said, her voice cold and angry. She stepped out from behind the tree and walked in front of her captive. "No thanks to you."

Merlin didn't say anything, knowing what she said was true. Morgana smirked, giving her beautiful face a cruel look. She took a step forward, her eyes full of hate, and ran her hand alongside Merlin's face. Merlin tried to pull away, but she just grabbed his chin and kept his face still.

"Who would have ever thought that you had magic?" Morgana commented, roughly tossing Merlin's head to the side.

"There are some who would say the same about you." Merlin replied, glaring at the woman he thought he knew.

Morgana's eyes narrowed and her hand came up, slapping Merlin across the face. Merlin's head snapped to the side and he could feel where one of her rings cut into his cheek. Moving his jaw slightly, Merlin turned his head back and looked his old friend in the eyes.

"You're a traitor, Merlin." Morgana hissed. "Not only to me, but to your own kind."

"You are the traitor, Morgana." Merlin replied, his eyes hard and cold. He had long since given up on helping Morgana turn back to the kind hearted soul she once had been. "You're the one who betrayed your friends."

"Oh, like you did?" Morgana laughed dryly. "Or does poisoning your friend and leaving her to die not count as betraying your friends?"

"I had no choice!" Merlin exclaimed, pain and regret in his voice. "What was I supposed to do? Let the people of Camelot die? I had no choice, Morgana! I didn't want to, but I had no choice!"

The last word had barely left his lips before Morgana's hand slapped him across the face, her ring cutting into his cheek once more. He could feel the blood trickling from the cut and knew it would leave a mark for several weeks.

"You lying traitor." Morgana snapped, stepping back from her captive. "You knew I had magic. You knew but you wouldn't help me. You're going to pay, Merlin."

"And how am I going to pay?" Merlin asked, trying to hide his nervousness.

Morgana didn't reply for a moment. Instead she stepped back a few steps and studied Merlin. She folded her arms across her chest and stood there thoughtfully for several minutes. Merlin couldn't help but feel nervous and slightly awkward as she studied him carefully. He looked down at the ground, uncomfortable under her unrelenting gaze.

'_How do I get myself in these situations?'_ he asked silently.

He looked around and saw a large branch lying on the ground. He remembered what Morgana had said about the ropes, but he had to try. Concentrating harder than he ever had before, Merlin imagined the branch rising off the ground and hitting Morgana in the head. He waited for the familiar feeling of his eyes changing color and the feeling of his magic rising in him, but he felt nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Merlin looked back at Morgana who was still just standing there studying him. He didn't like this feeling. He didn't like being powerless, of being normal. All his life he had had his magic, and he didn't know what to do without it. He looked back at the branch and imagined the branch hitting Morgana once more. Nothing happened.

"You are going to help me kill Arthur." Morgana interrupted his concentration.

"Didn't we already go through this?" Merlin asked with a roll of his eyes. "You didn't succeed that time, why makes you think I'm going to kill Arthur now?"

"If it hadn't been for Emrys you would have killed him." Morgana barked, taking a step closer to Merlin.

"Who's Emrys?" Merlin asked, trying to hide the grin that threatened to spread across his face. At least that part of his secret was still safe. Otherwise, Morgana would have killed him by now.

"N…no one." Morgana stuttered. "But this time I won't fail. Or rather, you won't."

"I'm not going to kill Arthur." Merlin's voice was cold and confident.

"Of course not." Morgana replied with a laugh. "I want that pleasure for myself."

"You just said…" Merlin started, before Morgana cut him off.

"I said you were going to help me kill him." She smirked and unfolded her arms. "You are going to help me and my army take over Camelot."

"Never."

The smirk grew bigger.

"You say that as if you have a choice."

Merlin started to struggle against his bonds, but they were too tight. Without his magic, there was no way he could escape. He could only struggle vainly as Morgana covered the distance between them and stood just inches away from him.

"I won't let you hurt Camelot." Merlin exclaimed, stopping in his struggling.

"My, my, my." Morgana said, her eyebrows rising in amusement. "What a few little magic tricks can do to change a person. You never would be this brave otherwise."

"Let me go, Morgana." Merlin ordered, ignoring her comment about 'a few little magic tricks.'

"I don't think so." Morgana smirked. "I have use for you."

She raised her hands and placed them on Merlin's head, over his ears. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again they were gold.

"Gymryd drosodd meddwl y dyn hwn. Gadewch ei awydd dim ond i wasanaethu mi, i wneud fel y gorchymyn. Plygwch ei feddwl i fy ewyllys."

The gold in her eyes grew brighter as she chanted the spell. Merlin tried to fight back, but without his magic it was hopeless. He closed his eyes, trying to fight, but when he opened them again they were wide and blank. His body grew relaxed as he stared into Morgana's eyes. He could feel his mind growing blank and he blinked slowly. When his eyes opened, they flashed an electric red before fading back to blue.

**Spell Translations: **

**Rhyddhau mi.—**Release me.

**Torrwch y rhaffau!—**Cut these ropes!

**Rhyddhau i mi o'r bondiau!—**Free me from these bonds!

**Gymryd drosodd meddwl y dyn hwn. Gadewch ei awydd dim ond i wasanaethu mi, i wneud fel y gorchymyn. Plygwch ei feddwl i fy ewyllys.-**Take over this man's mind. Let his only desire be to serve me, to do as I command. Bend his mind to my will.


	3. Chapter 3: My Queen

_**One quick note before I begin: If anybody is wondering how the spell works (I'm not sure I explain it very good) it is almost exactly like the spell used on Tommy in Power Rangers when he becomes the Green Ranger. (Who would have thought Power Rangers could give someone an idea for a Merlin story? haha) So Merlin's mind belongs to and is completly controlled by Morgana. There is just one slight difference between the Tommy spell and the Merlin spell, but I'll save that for a few chapters after this. :P **_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the little girl Amaya. **_

_Chapter 3: My Queen_

_When his eyes opened, they flashed an electric red before fading back to blue. _

A smile grew on Morgana's face as she drew her arms away from Merlin. She had seen the flash of red and from the vacant look on his face knew her spell had worked. She looked up at the sky and silently thanked her late sister for teaching her that spell. She looked back down at Merlin and took a step back.

"Merlin?" She said, not quite sure how to begin.

"Yes, my queen." Merlin's voice was slightly monotone. "How may I serve you?"

The smirk grew on her face. Never had she thought she would hear _Merlin_ of all people calling her queen and asking how he could serve her. For the first time in a long time, a smile lit up her face as a new plan began to form in her mind. She waited a few moments to straighten her thoughts before answering Merlin's question.

"I want you to collect your herbs for Gaius and go back to Camelot." Merlin's face remained blank. "You will wait there for today and go about your business as always." Merlin nodded, his eyes flashing red as the orders filled his mind. "Tomorrow at midnight you will go to the front gate and dispatch the guards. Open the gate and set fire to the lower town. Don't let anybody see you, though. I don't want anybody to know that you have magic and are on my side until later. When I and my army arrive, I want you to make your way to me, while using your magic against the knights of Camelot. Is that understood?"

"Yes, my Queen." Merlin nodded, his eyes flashing again. "I will do as you command."

"Very good, Merlin." Morgana smirked. "Ei ryddhau."

Her eyes glowed gold and the ropes fell to the ground, but the enchanted warlock didn't make a move to escape or even to move forward. Morgana's smirk grew bigger at the knowledge that Merlin was completely under her control. She took a few steps backwards and waited a few moments.

"You are free to go." She announced.

Merlin nodded and stepped forward, before looking around, confusion breaking the blank look. He looked over at Morgana nervously before daring to speak to his queen.

"Excuse me, my Queen," He said slowly, "But where am I supposed to go?"

Morgana couldn't keep the smirk off her face as Merlin called her queen. She loved the sound of that title, especially when it was used for her. Yes, she could defiantly get use to this.

"I will send you back." She replied. "Remember, Merlin, tomorrow at midnight. Don't be late."

"I won't be, my Queen." Merlin replied, the blank look on his face disappearing and being replaced with one of determination. "I will not fail you."

"You better not." Morgana said coldly, remembering when Aggravaine had said something very similar. "Anfonwch Merlin yn ôl at ei geffyl."

Her eyes glowed gold and Merlin disappeared in a flash of golden light. The smirk grew as the light faded away and she felt her eyes fade back to normal. When she had woke that morning, she hadn't expected for such a good day. All she had been planning for the day was to spy on Camelot and instead she had stumbled upon Merlin in the woods, all alone and defenseless. The second she had spotted him a plan had formed in her mind. She planned on kidnapping him, torturing him, then leaving his dying body on Arthur's doorsteps.

But then those bandits had appeared and Merlin had used magic to defeat them. She still couldn't believe it, even though she had seen it with her own eyes. Clumsy, stupid, bumbling Merlin was a sorcerer. There was no doubt in her mind that he was a weak sorcerer, there was no way someone like Merlin could have much magic, but he had magic none-the-less. She certainly hadn't been expecting that.

Morgana felt her hatred for the boy grow as she realized that Merlin had known she had magic, and yet had said nothing of his own. He could have helped her, but he chose to leave her alone, stranded. He had tried to kill her. A cruel smile spread across her face as she turned to where she had hidden her horse. She was going to enjoy this, her sudden unplanned revenge. She was going to enjoy it very much.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The flash of golden light faded away as Merlin stumbled forward and fell to the ground in the small clearing where Anwen was still tied. The bandits' bodies were gone, but Merlin didn't give them a second thought. He got to his feet slowly, shaking his head to clear the spots. He stood there a moment, looking around curiously. The basket he had been filling lay where it had fallen, the ivy spilled over and already wilting. Merlin frowned as he bent down and started picking ground ivy until he had the basket nearly full. Turning to his horse, he covered the basket with a cloth and tied it carefully onto the back of the horse were it wouldn't spill out before he mounted.

Roughly pulling on the reigns, he turned his horse around before kicking her into a fast trot back toward Camelot. Anwen neighed once in protest at the fast pace, but Merlin just ignored her, not even bothering to pat her. All he cared about was doing as his queen wished him to do. All he regretted was that it would a whole day before he could obey her.

The ride back to Camelot didn't take near as long as the ride to the woods as Merlin spurred his horse on faster. Anwen shook her mane and neighed several times, but Merlin wasn't paying any attention to her. All he could think about was his orders. The only thoughts running through his mind were of pleasing his queen, of obeying her and doing as she wanted. He wanted nothing more than to do as his queen commanded.

The streets of Camelot were busy now, with even the latest sleepers up. Children dashed back and forth across the street, forcing Merlin to slow Anwen down to a walk. His fingers absent-mindedly fiddled with the reigns as he rode along, ignoring the townspeople who waved and greeted him. More than one person looked at the young man in confusion, none understanding why the usually friendly man was ignoring them.

"Mewin!" Amaya shouted excitedly, running next to Merlin. "Did you get your herbs?"

"I did." Merlin replied, barely glancing down at the girl.

"Are you coming down this evening to tell more stowies?" She asked eagerly, mispronouncing 'stories.'

"Not today." Merlin said sharply, urging his horse to a slightly faster pace.

"Mewin?" Amaya said, not sure why her friend was leaving her so soon. He never did that.

Merlin ignored her and rode on as fast as the busy streets would let him. Amaya stared at his retreating form before turning around sadly and walking back to her aunt's store. Merlin didn't even look back at his little friend, instead his mind wondered to his orders. That was all he could think about it seemed. All he wanted was to be with his queen, to be doing as she commanded, to obey her.

_Go about your business as always_ she had said. A smile spread across his face as he realized he could start obeying her soon. He hurried to the stable and unsaddled Anwen, barely taking the time to brush her and cool her down, before he was off to obey his queen's orders. He was going to go about his business as always and that meant doing chores for King Arthur.

**Spell Translations**

_So, I learned today that the spells used in Merlin are actually Old English (and Old German for the Dragonlord parts.) and not Welsh. But because I don't know Old English (and can't find a translating website) I'm just going to stick with Google Translates' Welsh. Some spells I plan on using in later chapters will also come from the actual show because I have found a site with different spells and their translations. I'll make a note of those when it gets to that. _

**Ei ryddhau**.—Release him.

**Anfonwch Merlin yn ôl at ei geffyl**.—Send Merlin back to his horse.


	4. Chapter 4: Business as Always

**Sorry for the long wait on this chapter. Real life has really been at me the past few days and I just couldn't get the words out. I'm not happy with this chapter, but I'm sick of it so it's going to stay this way. haha Next chapter should be up anywhere between tomorrow and next week, depending on what life decides to do next. Hope ya'll enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: If ya recgonize it, it ain't mine. **

_Chapter 4: Business as Always_

Arthur was not in a good mood. That morning he had woken up to George and the gigantic breakfast that Arthur knew would take him at least a week to eat. Arthur had started to order the bootlicker out of his room and to send Merlin up, before he remembered that Merlin would be gone until at least noon collecting herbs for Gaius. And so Arthur had been stuck with George, who he swore was trying to kill him with all that food and his painfully stupid jokes.

Arthur had taken it quite well at first. He hadn't yelled, he hadn't thrown anything, and he hadn't shoved George out of the window like he so desperately wanted to. But after thirty minutes had passed, he had had enough. How many jokes could a man make about _brass_ of all things? Arthur had never been so relieved as when he finally managed to escape the man and had left his room.

That relief had lasted all of five minutes. Then he had had to attend a council meeting regarding the northern border, followed afterwards by different trials. That had taken all of two hours—miraculously, they usually lasted hours longer—and then Arthur had training with some of the newer knights. By the time noon rolled around, Arthur was tired, grouchy, and lashing out at all he came across.

He barged right into his room and, not paying attention to his surroundings, collapsed onto his bed. With a sigh, he lifted his head and looked around the room, surprised to find that he was alone. It was well after noon; Merlin should have been back now. Arthur sighed and let his head fall back on his bed. Leave it to Merlin to be late on one of Arthur's bad days. He was silently reciting the incredibly long list of chores he was going to throw on Merlin when the door burst open and said manservant, a plate of food and a pitcher of wine in his hands, stumbled inside.

"Sorry I'm late, Sire." Merlin apologized, barely managing to catch himself as he tripped over his own two feet. "You wouldn't believe how hard those herbs were to find. I thought I would be gone all day! I barely made it back in time. I would have been here sooner, but Lowri had to lecture me on the importance of being on time."

As his manservant was rambling, Arthur had pulled himself out of bed and made his way over to the table that Merlin was putting the food on. He wasn't paying close attention to what Merlin was saying, but he was grateful that annoying Merlin was back and that George was gone. Arthur would never admit it, but he rather enjoyed Merlin's rambling, even if it did tend to get annoying at times.

"What happened to your face?" Arthur asked when he spotted the cut on Merlin's cheek.

"I…uh…tripped and cut myself." Merlin answered, hesitating slightly.

Arthur just rolled his eyes at his manservant's clumsiness and started on his lunch. Merlin stood there silently, looking around at the unnaturally clean room. Everything was in its place; the floor was clean with no dirty laundry waiting to be picked up and washed. The bed was made, though wrinkled now due to Arthur. Someone had cleaned the room and, Merlin noticed, shined every piece of brass there was.

"George covered for me, didn't he." It wasn't a question.

"Unfortunately." Arthur nodded, his mouth full of food. "I swear that man is the most boring, ridiculous, annoying man I have ever met." He paused to think. "Ok, one of the most annoying. You and Gwaine just might beat him."

"Ahh," Merlin teased, doing his best impression of Gwaine. "I can annoy the princess more than Mr. Brass. I'm so thrilled! It's a dream come true!"

"_Mer_lin!" Arthur growled, though a grin threatened to break his serious face. "I should have you in the stocks for insulting me."

Merlin just laughed, knowing his friend was hiding a grin. Sure enough, Merlin's laughter proved to be contagious and Arthur couldn't help but join in. When the two settled down, Merlin hurried to smooth out the bed and fluff the pillows. Arthur ate quickly, knowing he had more meetings to attend and annoying people to listen too. Merlin sat down on the chest at the foot of the bed and watched Arthur eat.

"What are my chores for the rest of the day?" Merlin finally asked, causing Arthur to nearly choke on his wine.

"You're actually _asking_ for chores?" Arthur exclaimed in surprise, looking at Merlin as if he had suddenly grown two heads.

Merlin didn't say anything, just tilted his head slightly as if wondering what he had said wrong.

"Well…um…." Arthur stammered, still shocked that his normally complaining servant had actually asked for chores. "My armor needs polished, my sword needs sharpening, my laundry needs done, the floor needs scrubbing, my dogs need to be taken for a run, my horses need fed and watered and the stables need to be mucked out."

"I'll get right on it!" Merlin said cheerfully, practically jumping up from his seat. "If you need anything else just send George after me."

With that, Merlin hurried out of the room, leaving Arthur staring after his retreating figure in utter confusion.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The laundry didn't take long at all. George already had it washed so Merlin just had to remember to take it up to the King's room later on when he went to scrub the floor. He tackled the animals next, running Arthur's three dogs for thirty minutes before heading to the stables to feed and water the horses. Looking around, Merlin quickly decided to leave mucking the stables for last and hurried to the armory.

"Armor, floor, stables." Merlin said out loud, deciding on what order to do his chores.

The only armor in the place was Arthur's as the rest of the knights were all out on patrols or training. Normally Arthur would be out with them, but you could only push council meetings and the other boring duties off for so long, as Arthur was now learning. Merlin didn't mind. It meant that he got out of patrols and hunting trips that usually ended in an attempt on Arthur's life.

Merlin wasted no time in sitting and beginning the work on Arthur's armor. He hummed softly, glad to be doing as his queen had ordered. He was going about his business as always. Although he wasn't aware of it, his eyes flashed red before fading back to blue. The polishing didn't take long at all, except in a few places where the armor had rusted. At least, Merlin hoped that was rust. He couldn't remember whether the last outing he and Arthur had gone on had ended in Arthur being wounded or not, but Merlin decided that it hadn't and was relatively sure that it was rust, not blood, that he was cleaning. After seven years, he still wasn't use to blood and it still made him queasy.

He had just started on the chainmail when he heard footsteps. He looked up and saw Gwaine walking in, dragging his armor behind him. The knight blinked quickly, letting his eyes grow use to the dim light, and a smile lit his face when he spotted Merlin.

"Well looked what the cat drug in." Gwaine teased, dropped his armor on the floor beside his friend. "Princess giving you more chores than you can handle?"

"Of course not." Merlin replied cheerfully, not looking up from his work.

Gwaine looked at him in confusion, before shrugging t off as the mystery that was Merlin. The knight sat down heavily beside Merlin, ignoring his own armor that needed polishing. The two sat in an uncomfortable silence for several minutes, with Merlin not once looking up at the man beside him.

"You're awfully quiet today, Merlin." Gwaine commented.

"Nothing to say I guess." Merlin shrugged.

Gwaine looked at him in confusion, not sure what had come over his friend. They fell back into the silence and Gwaine reluctantly picked up his armor, looking at it with disgust. He really hated having to take care of the armor. Deciding to wait till later, he tossed it to the side and brought out his sword.

"You got a sharpening stone on you by any chance?" he asked, flipping his hair to the side as he looked at Merlin.

Merlin nodded and reached around his side to get the stone. When he turned back around, Gwaine noticed the cut on Merlin's cheek.

"What happened to your cheek?" he asked as he took the stone.

"I tripped and cut it." Merlin replied quickly.

Gwaine frowned, not completely believing his friend.

"On what?" He asked, grabbing his sword.

"The…uh… side of a table." Merlin replied hesitantly.

Gwaine frowned slightly as he started sharpening his sword.

"Really?" He asked. "Because that looks more like a cut from a ring than a table."

"I'm sure." Merlin replied quickly. "I tripped this morning when I was half asleep and the side of the table cut me."

Gwaine just looked at him unbelievingly.

"I know a cut from a ring when I see it, Merlin." Gwaine replied, pausing in his sharpening. "I've been on the receiving end of an angry woman's ringed hand many a time." He laughed briefly, remembering the many times a woman had slapped him. "So tell me, what girl hit you?"

"I cut myself on a table." Merlin exclaimed angrily, jumping to his feet. "No one hit him."

Gwaine looked at him in surprise. He had never seen Merlin angry, let alone been on the receiving end of the boy's anger. Merlin glared at him, his fists clenched, while Gwaine just looked up at him in confusion. Then Merlin's eyes flashed red. Gwaine's eyes widened and he nearly dropped his sword. He shook his head, sure he was imagining things.

"I think I would know better than you why I got cut." Merlin seethed and his eyes flashed red once more. This time Gwaine knew he hadn't imagined it.

"Y…yes, you would." Gwaine stammered in shock. "I'm sorry." He got to his feet and grabbed up his armor. "I think I'm going to go outside for a while."

He didn't wait for Merlin to answer and hurried out the room as fast as he could, wondering what on earth had come over his friend.


	5. Chapter 5: Something's Wrong

_**Sorry this chapter took so long to get up. I had a reenactment this weekend and right now my mind is still back in the 1860s so this chapter was rrreeeeaaaallllyyyy hard to write. Here's hoping the next chapter is easier and gets up quicker! haha This chapter and the next are/will be fairly boring and slow, but the action should be starting chapter after next (should be, the way my mind works that's not set in stone) **_

_**And I'm sorry if the characters (Mostly Gwaine and Gaius in this chapter) are out of character, I've tried to get them as close as I could, but with my mind still in the 1860s it became doubly hard. Anyways, I'll shut up now and just let ya read. **_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize. **_

_Chapter 5: Something's Wrong_

Gwaine took a glance back toward the room as he slowed to a walk. He shifted his armor slightly, his mind racing a mile a minute. He wondered through the corridors, not paying attention to where he was going. Questions filled his mind, blocking out everything else. What was wrong with Merlin? Why had his eyes glowed red? Why was he not acting like himself? What should he do?

Gwaine shook his head to try and clear it. He was almost out of the castle now, so he turned to the right and headed to a spot in the royal gardens that he technically wasn't supposed to be at. Hadn't stopped him before, though, and it wasn't going to stop him now. He walked through the gardens until he reached a large shade tree. He sat down roughly, laying his armor to the side, and leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes as his thoughts started to organize.

Merlin was enchanted. There was no other explanation for why his eyes had glowed red. But who had enchanted him? And why? The who was simple; Morgana was the only witch he knew of who had the power and reasons to even think of enchanting Merlin. The why was harder to answer. Gwaine knew it had to have something to do with killing Arthur.

"Stupid princess is too big a target." Gwaine muttered, opening his eyes and looking around the gardens.

Now that he had that figured out, the question was: What was he to do about it? He couldn't confront Merlin about it, that much was sure. Besides, what good would approaching Merlin about being enchanted do? No, Gwaine decided with a shake of his head, he would leave Merlin be and just keep a close watch on him for the time being.

But he had to tell someone, he was sure of that. The problem was who was he to tell? Arthur would just laugh him off; the stupid princess hardly ever believed anyone except Merlin, and Merlin was sure to deny being enchanted. No, Arthur wasn't an option. Not yet at least.

Gwaine slapped himself on the forehead and got to his feet, feeling stupid all of a sudden. Gaius! If anyone would know what to do it would be Gaius. Gwaine lifted his armor back up and hurried back toward the castle.

"After this," He said quietly, "I'm getting a nice cold drink."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Merlin sat down slowly, watching Gwaine's retreating form. He picked the chainmail up and started going over it, looking for broken or rusted links. He wasn't 100 percent sure why he had taken such offense at Gwaine's questions. Somehow, in Merlin's mind, Gwaine's pressuring had come across as an insult to his Queen.

Merlin's thoughts rarely strayed from his Queen and his orders. After a few minutes, all thoughts of Gwaine had faded from his mind. It didn't take him long to finish polishing and fixing Arthur's armor. He quickly placed the armor and sharpened sword in their places and headed out of the armory. He had about an hour of free time, much to his dislike. He wanted to work. His orders were to go about 'business as always' and usually Arthur overloaded him with chores. In Merlin's mind, business as always was doing what chores Arthur gave him.

He turned toward the physician's courters, planning on telling Gaius to keep a bucket of water for him to wash up in for he knew when he went to muck the stables he would get covered, as always. He was almost to his quarters when he saw Gwaine, armor still in his arms, a few yards in front of him. Merlin slowed his walking and stepped as gentle as he could, not wanting to attract the knight's attention. He frowned slightly as Gwaine turned into the physician's rooms and shut the door behind him.

Merlin speeded up once more and put his ear to the door. He could hear Gwaine and Gaius talking, but the thick wooden door prevented him from making out any of the words. He frowned slightly, trying to remember a spell to let him hear through doors.

"Cynyddu fy gwrandawiad." He whispered and felt his eyes glow gold.

He placed his ear back to the door and grinned triumphantly as the words said in the room came through crystal clear.

"What makes you think that?" Gaius was asking.

"His eyes glowed red, Gaius." Gwaine replied, frustration in his voice. "If that doesn't say 'I'm enchanted' then I don't know what does."

"Are you sure his eyes glowed red?" Gaius asked, worry starting to creep into his voice.

"Positive." Gwaine answered. "They glowed red twice when I accused him of being hit by a girl."

"Why did you accuse him of being hit by a girl?" Gaius asked in confusion.

"He has a cut on his cheek," Gwaine explained and Merlin couldn't help but touch his cut cheek. "He claimed he fell and cut it on a table this morning, but I know a cut from a ring when I see one."

"He didn't fall this morning." Gaius said, more to himself than anything. "And he was alone half the morning collecting herbs."

"Morgana must have caught him and enchanted him then." Gwaine supplied and Merlin felt his anger rise as these two… peasants talked about his queen in such a rude manner.

"We must tell the King." Gaius said and Merlin heard footsteps coming toward the door.

He started to back away, but Gwaine's voice stopped him.

"What good would that do? The princess would just believe Merlin over us."

"Then we'll have to find some way to make him believe us." Gaius replied.

Merlin drew away from the door, canceling the spell, and hurried away to hide in one of the alcoves near the door. He waited about five minutes before the door finally opened and Gwaine hurried down the corridor. Once he was sure he was in the clear, Merlin left his hiding place and hurried to his quarters.

"Hello Merlin." Gaius greeted when he walked in.

"Gaius." Merlin said with a nod of his head. "I'll be in my room if anybody needs me."

Gaius looked at him curiously, but didn't say anything so Merlin hurried to his room, shutting the door and locking it behind him. He wasted no time in getting his spell book out from its hiding place under a loose floorboard. He climbed onto his bed and started leafing through the book. After a few minutes of searching he found the spell he was looking for. He mouthed the words a few times before closing his eyes and reciting the spell.

"Agor cysylltiad rhwng fy frenhines Morgana yn meddwl a minnau. Gadewch i ni siarad â'i gilydd yn awr."

His eyes glowed gold beneath his closed eyes and it felt like his head was being tightened. Merlin gasped and tried to open his eyes, but they were closed firmly and no matter how much he tried he couldn't open them. The tightness increased until it felt like he was going to implode, then it just suddenly vanished and his queen's voice echoed in its place.

"What are you doing to me?"

"My Queen," Merlin said in his mind, "We have trouble."

**Spell Translations **

_(All still in Welsh. Can't find a good Old English translator still.) _

**Cynyddu fy gwrandawiad**—Increase my hearing.

**Agor cysylltiad rhwng fy frenhines Morgana yn meddwl a minnau. Gadewch i ni siarad â'i gilydd yn awr.-** Open a connection between my queen Morgana's mind and mine. Let us talk to one another now.


	6. Chapter 6: Change of Plans

_Chapter 6: Change of Plans_

_**I'm sorry this chapter has taken so long to get up. Been watching more Merlin interviews then episodes and have been laughing my head off to much to write haha Plus busy weekend, no time to write. I'll try and update more often this week, but we'll see how that goes. I wasn't expecting to put this up tonight, but luckily I can't sleep so this chapter is going up two days early! Haha **_

_**Please read the little notes at the bottom before the spell translations. Some important stuff I explain better there. **_

_**Disclaimer: I think you get the picture now. I don't own anything even closely related to Merlin. **_

"We must be prepared for tomorrow night." Morgana announced.

She stood in front of a group of people. A few looked like common bandits, a few others looked like soldiers, but most looked like the common everyday people, if you ignored the hooded capes.. Most of the group—about ten to twenty people, give or take—where men, though five women stood together off to the side looked at Morgana with disgust, as well as hints of envy. The men, most of them at least, didn't look pleased to be listening to orders from a woman, but none rose to say anything against her.

"The knights of Elmet***** will be ready, Lady Morgana." One of the knights announced, holding his hand up dramatically to his heart.

Morgana grinned slightly and nodded at him. She hadn't questioned whether or not the army of Elmet would get involved. She had known beyond a shadow of a doubt that they would. Elmet, like most of the kingdoms of the divided Albion, wanted nothing but power and more land. Camelot, with its new young king, was ripe for the picking, especially for so small a kingdom as Elmet.

The five women all glanced at each other before nodding as one. One, dressed in armor as if she were a knight as well, took a step forward and met Morgana's eyes.

"The Warriors of Bernicia****** will be waiting tomorrow." The woman said with a stiff nod.

Morgana nodded back just as stiffly. She was glad to have the fierce tribe of women warriors on her side, but they made her nervous. She wasn't going to turn her back on them, that was for sure. She could see the envy in their eyes, and though it made her happy—in a strange, cruel sort of way—to be envied for being powerful, it made her nervous as well. Not that she would admit that of course.

A man in a scarlet cloak stood up, folding his hands carefully and slowly inside the folds of his to-large cloak. He looked around at his fellow members in cloaks. He looked around at his fellow men in cloaks, earning a nod from each of them. He then turned back to Morgana and spoke.

"We of the outcast Druids will gladly and proudly be by your side in the attack against Camelot."

Morgana's cruel smile grew across her face. Of all those gathered, she had wanted the Druids the most. Outcasts for wanting to bring magic back to the land through violence, they weren't afraid to use any means necessary to achieve their goal. Which was exactly why Morgana wanted them on her side.

"We will meet…" Morgana started to say, before a piercing pain began in her head.

She gasped and grabbed at her temples, falling to her knees as the pain increased. It felt as if her head was tightening, pressing in on her, killing her from the inside out. She gasped again, this time in relief as the pain all but disappeared.

"_What are you doing to me_?" She asked, not realizing she wasn't speaking out loud.

"_My Queen,"_ Morgana recognized the voice as that of Merlin. _"We have trouble." _

"_What kind of trouble? How are you talking to me?"_ Morgana asked as she kneeled on the floor in front of the group of people, eyes staring blankly at all of them.

"_I found a spell that lets the caster talk to whoever he calls for." _Merlin explained the second question first. "_Gaius and Gwaine are suspicious. They believe I am enchanted and are planning to prove it somehow to Arthur." _

"_How did you find this out?"_ Morgana asked, anger seeping into her voice.

"_I overheard them talking."_ Merlin answered.

"_How long ago?" _

"_About ten, fifteen minutes." _

Morgana didn't say anything for a few moments as she got lost in her thoughts. She could see the people moving around her and all but the Druids seemed concerned, though not overly concerned. As her thoughts began to fall into place, one thought suddenly forced itself to the front. Conversation spells were extremely hard and took powerful magic to perform. Her eyes widened and her eyebrow rose slightly as she realized Merlin must be more powerful than she had at first thought. Setting that aside for the time being, she finalized her immediate plans.

"_This changes things."_ She said, still not realizing that she was talking in her mind and not out loud. _"Be at the gate at midnight tonight. Your orders are as before, just moved up to tonight. We can't risk Arthur finding out. One day might be too long." _

"_As you wish my Queen." _

Morgana smirked and rose to her feet as the connection ended. She looked out over the group of people who were all looking at her in curiosity. Her smirk grew bigger as she began to settle their curiosity.

"There has been a change of plans."

***According to the Merlin wiki page, Elmet is one of the kingdoms in Albion and since I don't remember ever hearing of it or it being mentioned in the show, I figured I'd use it in this story. Since it hasn't been mentioned (And there was nothing about it on the page) I'm going to just make stuff about Elmet up. If anyone has any real information on it, feel free to share. If no one knows anything about it, then I guess I'm safe making stuff up about it haha **

****Ok, completely made Bernicia up, it's just a name that came up on spell check haha What it is is just a group of warrior women. That's pretty much it.**


	7. Chapter 7: More Than a Drunk

_**Ok, so I'm not quite sure where exactly this chapter came from. In my mind, this chapter was suppose to start all the action with midnight coming and all, but my hands seem to have wanted a different idea. I do believe my hands have something with this chapter as I enjoyed writing it. (Sorry if this author's note is random, weird, and annoying. It's almost midnight and I'm tired and slap happy haha) **_

_** Anyways, I'm sorry if Gwaine is a bit out of character, I tried to make him as in character as possible, but I know he's not completly. I'm one of those there's-more-to-Gwaine-then-the-show-shows people and that is very evident in this chapter. What can I say? He's fun to write haha **_

_** I'll shut up now and just let you read. Hope you enjoy the story! :) **_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing...sadly. **_

_Chapter 7: More Than a Drunk _

Merlin sighed, scrunching his nose as he caught a whiff of himself. Mucking the stables defiantly was the worst job Arthur could give him. Somehow he always wound up covered in the manure, though Merlin wasn't really sure how. All he knew was that he was glad the job was finally done.

Merlin walked out of the stables and looked up at the sky, pleased to see that the sun had almost set. Another twenty minutes and Camelot would be in darkness. A grin spread across his face. He had his orders and all he wanted to do was fulfill them and please his queen. He hadn't seen Gwaine or Gaius since he had contacted his queen. He didn't know if that was good or bad, but he wasn't going to worry about it until he needed too.

Merlin hurried off toward his chambers, people scattering in an effort to avoid him. Merlin sniffed at himself again, not realizing he smelled that bad. When another villager went out of his way to avoid Merlin, the boy sped up to get home quicker. With his slightly increased speed, Merlin reached the physician's quarters. When he walked inside, Gaius was bent over his table mixing up different liquids.

"I hate those stables." Merlin announced, bouncing across the room to the bucket of water he had saved earlier.

"Indeed." Gaius replied, looking up from his potion to study his ward.

Merlin took a deep breath and dunked his head into the bucket of lukewarm water and scrubbed at the manure coating his face and hair. Gaius watched him for a moment before turning back to his potion. He heard Merlin lift his head out of the bucket with a gasp, but he didn't turn to look at the warlock. He bent back down and carefully poured a dark brown potion into a crimson one. A quiet sizzling rose from the potion as it changed to a dark green.

"What are you making?" Merlin asked as he scrubbed at his hair.

"It's a potion for the villagers who have been ill the past few days." Gaius explained, lighting shaking the potion.

"Oh?" Merlin said absently. "What do they have?"

"I…I'm not exactly sure." Gaius answered, stuttering slightly. "It is not a disease I am familiar with."

"And you think that will help them?" Merlin asked, rubbing a towel through his hair to dry it.

"I believe so, yes." Gaius replied. He paused a moment, as if considering something, before continuing. "I believe you should take some as well."

"Why?" Merlin asked slowly, eyeing the green potion nervously.

"The disease is very contagious." Gaius explained slowly. "You go to the lower town often. Better safe than sorry."

"I haven't been around any sick people." Merlin argued, not liking the look of the potion.

"We can't take that risk." Gaius replied, holding the potion out to him.

Merlin looked warily at the glass vial before reluctantly taking it from his mentor's hand. He looked down at the green liquid, dreading tasting it. Gaius's potions never tasted good and this one looked worse than others. Gaius gave him a look that clearly told him to hurry up and take it, so Merlin sighed and brought the vial to his lips, sipping as little of the potion as he could.

Even with the small amount of potion, Merlin nearly puked. He managed not to, but he gagged regardless and overdramatically. The potion tasted almost as bad as the troll disgusting potion he had been forced to try a few years back. Almost. Merlin grimaced, swallowing the potion as quick as he could and held the vial back out to Gaius.

"Uhg!" he groaned when Gaius took the vial from him. "Why do all of your potions taste disgusting?"

"They are meant to help," Gaius replied, frowning slightly. "Not be a drink."

"Still would be nice if they could help and still taste good at the same time." Merlin replied with a goofy grin. "I'm going to my room for a while."

"I don't believe you drank enough of the potion, Merlin." Gaius said quickly, holding the vial back out.

Merlin looked at the still mostly full vial in disgust before raising his eyes to meet his mentors.

"The villagers will need it though," he argued. "And I don't see another potion like that in this room. I'm sure I'll be fine."

Gaius started to argue, but reluctantly sighed and nodded. He turned around, listening as Merlin's footsteps headed toward his room. Once the door shut and the bolt locked, Gaius put the potion on the table and hurried out the door. He didn't have far to go. At the end of the corridor Gwaine was hidden half in the shadows, waiting for Gaius. When he saw the old physician hurrying toward him, the knight stepped out of his hiding place, flipping his hair as he met Gaius halfway.

"Did it work?" he asked, worry etched in his voice.

"I am not certain." Gaius replied with a frown. "He didn't drink near as much as I would like."

"But it should still un-enchant him, shouldn't it?" Gwaine pressed.

"In theory, yes." Gaius replied with a nod before explaining. "The potion is very tricky. If the enchanted doesn't drink enough, it could have no effect. At the same time it could take several hours for the potion to take effect."

"So the enchantment could wear off in a few hours after Merlin's tried to kill Arthur?" Gwaine asked skeptically.

"Yes." Gaius nodded. "But I do not believe Morgana wants Merlin to kill Arthur, otherwise he would already be dead. Or at least have tried by now."

"What other reason could she have then?" Gwaine asked in confusion.

"I don't know." Gaius admitted.

"So what do we do?" Gwaine asked.

He wouldn't admit it, but he was worried about his friend. In the year or so he had been a knight of Camelot, he had come to regard Morgana as a formidable opponent, one not afraid to cut corners and do whatever it took to accomplish her goals. Gwaine knew that was a dangerous thing, add in her powerful magic and it grew ten times worse. If she had gotten hold of Merlin—and he was sure she had. There was no other explanation for Merlin's eyes glowing red—then there was no telling what danger Camelot was in for.

"Wait a minute," Gwaine muttered. "Camelot!"

"Excuse me?" Gaius asked, his eye brow raised.

"She's after Camelot, not Arthur." Gwaine answered his for-once-sober mind rushing as he thought of all the possibilities. "She must be using Merlin to get into Camelot somehow. Gather her army and have Merlin open the gates. That would leave princess for her to kill however she wants. It's a simple plan, but effective if Merlin does his job right."

"That's…" Gaius paused as he thought over what Gwaine had just said. "That's a logical idea." He looked at Gwaine, surprise lightening his face.

"What?" Gwaine asked, fidgeting slightly under the eyes of the physician.

"I didn't know you were so philosophical." Gwaine looked at him, clearly not understanding what he meant. "I didn't realize you could be smart and figure things out so easily. I always took you as…" he cut off, not wanting to say anything to offend the knight.

"A drunk?" Gwaine supplied, amusement in his eyes. " Unobservant? Clueless? Handsomely good looking and amazing?"

"Well, yes." Gaius replied. "Except for the last two."

Gwaine laughed and rolled his eyes.

"I'm more than just a drunk." He said. "And I'm defiantly not clueless. But don't let on to anyone, ok? It's more fun this way." A sly grin broke his face as he added, "I can get blackmail easier."

Gaius' eyebrow rose, not sure whether he should be amused or annoyed with the more-than-meets-the-eye knight. In the end, he chose to be amused. After all, he was hiding a secret warlock, so clearly people were more than they seemed.

"So what do we do?" Gwaine repeated, turning the conversation back to the problem at hand.

"We have to tell the King." Gaius announced after a moment of thought.

"He won't believe us." Gwaine frowned.

"We have to try." Gaius replied and took off down the corridor without another word.

Gwaine sighed and hurried after the physician. This was going to be interesting.


	8. Chapter 8: It is Time

_**Sorry that this chapter took awhile to get up, it was giving me a hard time to write. Now that the action is about to start, it should get easier to write since the action is the main reason I wanted to write this story. haha The next update won't be until next week, Monday at the earliest. I have a reenactment this weekend and don't know how much time I will have to write on Sunday, if any. Until then, I hope you like this chapter!**_

_**Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine cause if it was, Morgana's plans might actually work (Hey, what can I say, I like her better evil haha) So yeah, I own nothing.**_

_Chapter 8: It's Time_

Merlin sat in his room, unaware of the conversation between his friend and mentor outside in the corridor. He was propped up on his bed, chewing on an apple he had hidden and flipping through the pages in his magic book. He wasn't looking for anything in particular, just flipping through to see what spells where in there. Every so often he would find a small spell that looked interesting and would try it out.

"Frīcian hrægl." He commanded softly, pointing his hand at the piles of clothes that littered his floor.

His eyes flashed gold briefly and the clothing jumped off the floor and hung in the air before proceeding to dance around in circles. A grin spread across Merlin's face as he watched the clothing waltz around, armless sleeves held on together and moved in a smooth pattern, much smoother than they had ever moved when Merlin had attempted to dance.

"Álynian." Merlin whispered, his eyes flashing gold.

The clothing instantly fell limp, crashing to the floor. Merlin let out a laugh and turned back to flipping through his book. The hours passed quickly, with Merlin practicing spell after spell. He had found a rather useful spell which would tell him the time when cast and he used it every so often. His eagerness began to double as it hit an hour to midnight.

"Álýman dæg." Merlin said with a wave of his hand.

Fiery letters began to form in the air until the words "twenty till midnight" was spelled out. Merlin smiled, and climbed out of bed, placing the spell book back under the loose floorboards. He opened the door to his room quietly, looking around to see if Gaius was around. Much to his surprise, Gaius was nowhere to be seen. Merlin quickly hurried out of the quarters, shutting both doors behind him.

Without looking to see if anybody was watching, the warlock turned down the corridor and started toward the courtyard. He made it out of the castle easily since the guards all figured he was going to Arthur's quarters. Getting into the Lower Town would be much harder, or would be if it wasn't for the fact that Merlin had magic. He was almost to the end of the corridor when a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Hello Merlin."

Merlin turned around and saw Queeen Guinevere walking down the corridor after him, a smile on her face and a yellow flower tucked behind her ear.

"Hi Gwen," Merlin replied, hiding his annoyance behind a smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, just taking a stroll." Gwen replied as she reached him. "What are you doing?"

"I have some things to do." Merlin replied shortly and started walking again.

"Has Arthur been giving you more chores than you can handle again?" Gwen asked, speeding up her steps to catch up with Merlin.

"Yes." Merlin replied, giving her an annoyed look.

Confusion spread across Gwen's face as she saw him look at her in annoyance.

"Is something wrong, Merlin?" she asked, trying to keep up with him.

"I just have things to do and you're keeping me from doing them." Merlin snapped, his irritation at the delay getting the best of him.

"I...I'm sorry." Gwen stuttered, shocked at the anger in his voice. "I'll leave you then. Good bye."

Merlin watched, not saying a word, as she turned down another corridor and hurried away with a quick confused glance over her shoulder. Once he was sure she was gone, Merlin hurried on his way out of the castle. After a minute or so he reached the dark courtyard, lighted only by the full moon, though even that was covered by clouds every few minutes or so.

Two guards stood at the open gate between the courtyard and the town. One was leaning against the wall, his head resting against it as if he was asleep. The other stood at attention, though he seemed relaxed at the same time. Merlin stayed in the shadows, moving slowly and carefully. About twenty feet from the guard's position was a pillar, which Merlin carefully and easily made his way to. He looked around, searching for something to distract the guards so he could sneak by. Luckily, a couple of barrels were stacked a few yards away toward the courtyard.

"Binne tófléon." Merlin whispered, his eyes flashing gold.

The top barrel toppled over, making a loud clanging as it hit the ground and rolled away. The two guards instantly jerked up and looked around frantically before running at the barrels. Merlin rolled his eyes at the ease of sneaking out of the castle and ran through the gate, slipping back into the shadows. He went behind the houses, moving as fast as he dared. In just a few minutes he had reached the front gates.

Two guards guarded the gate, with two more on the outside and two further on down. Merlin watched the guards pacing for a few moments until they were as close as they were going to be. He held his hand out in front of him, hoping the spell would work on all the guards and not just the ones closest to him.

"Swefn." He whispered and his eyes flashed gold for a second.

He lowered his hand as he watched the guards all stumble around for a moment before falling to the ground, out cold. Merlin grinned and moved from his place beside the house and over to the large gate. It was bolted shut, and Merlin really didn't feel like opening it manually and then dealing with the other guards on the outside. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, he brought his hand back up.

"Ætýne rynelice."

The bolt on the gate slowly lifted, not making a sound, and the gates swung open, not making so much as a creak. Merlin ducked over to the side, hiding in the shadows once more to avoid the guards that were sure to be surprised. But to Merlin's surprise, no guards came into view. Tilting his head slightly in confusing, Merlin slowly walked forward and looked around for the guards, only to find the dead bodies of the two guards.

He looked around in confusion before a smile lit his face. Standing in the shadows alongside the walls stood his queen and her army. Morgana took a step toward him and Merlin bowed respectively.

"I have done as you wished, my Queen." He said quietly.

Morgana smirked, enjoying this more than she could say. She nodded at Merlin and turned back toward her army and said three simple words for the start of the battle.

"It is time."

**Spell Translations**

_**I want to say a BIG thank you to AuroraKnight for the websites on translating to Old English and the Greek. Thank you sooo much! All of the spells from here on out will be in Old English (Minus the Dragon Lord language of course). Again, thank you!**_

_**One last thing, I don't understand the different varieties of the words (with all the indicatives and all that) so I just picked whichever word that popped up that looked cool. Probably not the right way to do it, but I'm not smart enough to understand and learn which words go with which and I just don't have the time. So I apologize for probably butchering the language. **_

**Frīcian hrægl**—Dance clothing.

**Álynian**—Stop.

**Álýman dæg**—Show time.

**Binne tófléon.—**Bins, be dispersed

**Swefn**—Sleep

**Ætýne rynelice**—Open quietly


	9. Chapter 9: Warning Bells

_**One note before the chapter begins. I added a part to the last chapter (Chapter 8: It's Time) and it is an important part and is mentioned in this chapter. So if you haven't already, please go back and read that so you can better understand this chapter. The part I added in is just about a paragraph long and talks about Gwen. So please go back and read that before starting this chapter. Next chapter starts the action! **_

_**Disclaimer: If I owned Merlin, the US would get it a whole lot quicker and would have reruns showing right now. Since that's not happening, I clearly don't own Merlin. **_

_Chapter 9: Warning Bells _

Gwaine and Gaius hurried along the corridors as fast as they could without drawing attention to themselves. They were heading to Arthur's chambers, hoping that the King would be there and not in a meeting. Gwaine wished they could hurry and get this over with, but he could only move as fast as Gaius, and Gaius was going slow so as not to arouse suspicion.

Gwaine sighed in relief when they finally reached Arthur's quarters. He started to step forward and throw the door open, but Gaius beat him to it and knocked three times before stepping back and waited. A guard patrolling the corridor saw them and headed there way.

"The King is in a meeting." The guard announced when he reached them.

"Do you know how long he will be?" Gaius asked.

"An hour, maybe more." The guard shrugged. "The meeting was called an hour ago."

"Thank you." Gaius said with a nod. "When he returns will you let him know we wish to speak to him?"

"Certainly." The guard replied and moved on.

"Now what do we do?" Gwaine moaned once the guard was out of hearing distance.

"We wait." Gaius replied.

"We don't have time to wait!" Gwaine argued angrily. "For all we know Morgana could be outside the city right now waiting to attack!"

"She hasn't had enough time to gather her army." Gaius replied with a shake of his head. The physician looked down the corridor, saw that the guard had turned around the corner, and quickly opened the door to Arthur's chambers and walked in, holding the door open for Gwaine who just stared at him in surprise. "Well come on."

Gwaine, still slightly shocked that Gaius had just opened the door to the King's chambers and gone in, followed. He could see himself breaking the rules and going into Arthur's chambers—something only Merlin Aggravaine and Gwen were supposed to be allowed to do, though that hadn't stopped Gwaine before—but Gaius was usually the one who lectured about rule breaking. Once Gwaine was inside, Gaius shut the door quietly.

"We'll wait here." Gaius announced as he sat down in a chair. "The guards change in ten minutes and I doubt he will remember to tell the King."

Gwaine shook his head, still surprised at Gaius, and sat down on Arthur's bed. He leaned back up against the pillows, folded his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes. The bed was much more comfortable than the chairs would be.

"Sir Gwaine." Gaius chided, his eyebrow raising slightly.

"Hmm?" Gwaine muttered, opening his eyes.

"That is the King and Queen's bed," Gaius lectured. "I'm sure they do not want you on it."

"What they don't know won't hurt them." Gwaine laughed and closed his eyes again. "Might as well be comfortable. There's no telling how long we will have to wait for the princess."

Gaius sighed and shook his head, giving up on the knight. They waited in silence, Gaius dozing in his seat and Gwaine fast asleep on the bed, for close to two hours. Gaius shifted in the seat, growing uncomfortable, before sighing and standing up to stretch. As he stretched his arms, the door slowly creaked open and a woman's laughter could be heard. Gaius looked back at Gwaine, but the knight was still fast asleep.

Gaius didn't move as Gwen walked in and shut the door behind her. When she turned and looked around the room she gave a small yelp of surprise, but not loud enough to draw the guard's attention. Her yelp was loud enough, however, to wake Gwaine up. The knight sat up quickly and blinked several times, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes. Though his vision was slightly blurry, he saw the form of Gwen. He swung his legs over the bed quickly, but his legs gave out from under him as he put his weight on them and the knight crashed none too gracefully to the floor.

Gaius and Gwen burst out laughing as Gwaine got to his feet, mumbling something under his breath.

"Gaius, Gwaine." Gwen greeted when she stopped laughing. "What are you doing here?"

"We have something to discuss with Arthur." Gaius told her, laughter still in his voice.

"He should be here soon," Gwen told them. "He was stopped on the way here by Sir Leon. I believe he was looking for you Gwaine."

"When is he not?" Gwaine asked with a roll of his eyes. "I swear that man wants to keep me under lock and key when we aren't training."

"I believe it is his job to keep you away from the taverns." Gaius said, his eyebrow raised.

"We all know how that's gone." Gwaine replied with a large grin.

Gwen laughed, with Gwaine joining in, and Gaius grinned and shook his head at the knight's antics. The sound of the door opening stopped the laughter and the room's occupants turned to see King Arthur walking into the room. He closed the door behind him and folded his arms across his chest, staring at the occupants of the room.

"What are you doing here, Gwaine?" Arthur asked. "I thought we had an agreement that you wouldn't step foot in here again?"

"Hey, Gaius is here too." Gwaine argued. "You just said I couldn't come in here if I was alone."

Arthur sighed and shook his head.

"Is there something I can help you with Gaius?" he asked, deciding to ignore his crazy knight.

"Yes, there is." Gaius replied, bowing respectfully. "Have you noticed anything off about Merlin, Sire?"

"Merlin?" Arthur asked in confusion. "Other than the fact that he got his chores done on time today, no."

"Is something wrong with Merlin?" Gwen asked worriedly. "I asked him, but he said no."

Gaius looked at her curiously.

"Did anything seem off when you spoke to him?" Gwaine asked, walking over to join the group.

"He seemed distracted," Gwen replied slowly. "And he was very short with me, almost like he was angry with me."

"When did you see him?" Gaius asked.

"About ten minutes ago, before I went to find Arthur." Gwen answered. "He was headed toward the courtyard. Said he had some chores to do for Arthur."

"He finished all the chores I had for him today." Arthur cut in, clearly confused by all the talk about his manservant. "What is this all about, Gaius?"

"I believe, Sire," Gaius said slowly, taking a deep breath, "that Merlin has been enchanted."

"Why would anyone want to enchant Merlin?" Arthur asked, clearly not believing it.

"I don't know," Gwaine said sarcastically. "Maybe because he's the King's manservant and can move about the castle freely."

"What proof do you have?" Arthur asked.

"Other than his odd behavior, Gwaine saw his eyes turn red." Gaius replied.

"His eyes turned red?" Arthur gave them a look that clearly said he didn't believe them. "Are you sure you weren't just drunk and imagining things?"

"I was and am perfectly sober!" Gwaine snapped. "Though a nice tall tankard of ale would be nice right about now."

Gaius sighed, knowing that last sentence hadn't done them any help.

"I believe them, Arthur." Gwen said suddenly. "Merlin wasn't acting like himself at all. I have never seen him be irritated and angry before, and why would he lie about going to do his chores?"

Arthur frowned, clearly not believing that Merlin was enchanted, but he wouldn't go against his wife.

"What would you have me do then?" he finally asked.

"Double the guard for the next week or so." Gaius told him. "And keep a close eye on Merlin."

"Very well." Arthur nodded. "Gwaine and I will go and tell them now."

"Me?" Gwaine exclaimed. "Why?"

"Because you're going to be helping the guards tonight." Arthur smirked. "That's your punishment for spending the night at the taverns last night."

"Stupid Leon!" Gwaine murmured. "Why can't the man just take the bribe and not turn me in?"

"What was that?" Arthur asked, amusement clear on his face.

"Nothing." Gwaine said hastily and hurried out of the door.

Arthur laughed and leaned over to give Gwen a quick kiss before following the knight out of the chambers. He had just shut the door behind him when the warning bells began to ring.


	10. Chapter 10: The Battle Begins

_**I'm so proud of myself for finishing this chapter in just a day and a half! Haha I knew once I reached the action part it would get easier to write. I hope ya'll are enjoying the story!**_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. **_

_Chapter 10: The Battle Begins _

_He had just shut the door behind him when the warning bells began to ring. _

Arthur and Gwaine exchanged a quick look before taking off at a run down the corridors. They skidded around the corner, almost running into Sirs Leon and Elyan.

"What's going on?" Arthur asked loudly.

"Morgana's army is invading." Leon announced, worry in his face.

"Morgana?" Arthur glanced at Gwaine who had stiffened.

"Yes, Sire." Leon nodded. "They're coming in through the front gate."

"How did they get them open?" Gwaine asked before Arthur could say anything. "I thought they had been reinforced after the last attack."

"We aren't sure." Elyan answered this time. "But it seems like they had inside help."

Arthur looked over at Gwaine, who gave him a look that clearly said I-told-you-so. Arthur swallowed slightly, sudden worry for Merlin creeping in. If Merlin really was enchanted—and that seemed to be the case—then he needed to get to his manservant before anyone else did.

"Where are the knights? And the guards?" Arthur asked, trying to put his worry for Merlin at the back of his mind.

"Most are in the fight in the Lower Town." Leon informed. "About a third have been kept in the citadel in reserve."

"What of the people?" Arthur questioned and began walking briskly down the flight of stairs.

"They are running for the citadel." Leon answered, following closely behind his king.

They hurried down several flights of stairs until they reached the courtyard. Men, women, and children streamed past, screaming at the top of their lungs. Out toward the Lower Town the lights of houses set aflame flickered tauntingly.

"Everyone to the safety of the castle!" Arthur shouted loudly, his voice carrying across the crowded courtyard.

The people didn't have to be told twice and began spilling through the doors, praying they would be safe and would have a home to return to when the knights defeated the army at the gates. As the people hurried by, Leon and Elyan broke away from the king and headed toward the fighting. Gwaine started to follow them, but Arthur's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Find Merlin," Arthur ordered. "If he is enchanted there's no telling what he might do. When you find him, take him to my room and lock him in and don't let him go."

"Yes, Sire." Gwaine replied, being respectful for perhaps the first time.

Arthur nodded once and removed his hand from Gwaine's shoulder, then took off at a run, drawing Excalibur as he went. Gwaine drew his own sword and pushed his way through the crowd. He had a general idea of where Merlin would be: Right in the thick of things, as he always was. So the knight pushed his way through the gate and into the Lower Town.

People ran, screaming at the top of their lungs, toward him. He was pushed and prodded as he fought his way against the current. He could see the Camelot knights fighting against the enemy, and he paused a moment to study his surroundings and the people he was to fight. Many seemed to be average people, but the scarred faces and fighting skills gave them away as bandits. To Gwaine's surprise, there were quite a few women dressed in armor and fighting alongside the bandits. The last group of people the knights fought against wore average clothing except for the cloaks that billowed behind them. This group held very few weapons, maybe a few daggers and the occasional sword, but all were using magic to throw the knights every which way.

Gwaine ducked as one of the sorcerers turned his way and sent a dagger his way. The dagger went over his head, then spun back around and came at him again. Gwaine brought his sword up, knocking the dagger out of the air. He spun on his heels to find the sorcerer coming at him with a sword. Gwaine swung his sword, blocking the oncoming attack with ease, and quickly ran his sword through the sorcerer's chest. Gwaine pulled the sword out as the sorcerer collapsed to his knees, a look of shock on his face, before falling over dead.

Gwaine didn't wait around for another attack. He hurried toward the fighting, blocking sword strikes and dodging flying objects and spells as he ran. He saw Elyan and Percival fighting back to back against a small group of bandits. A little ways away he saw Arthur taking on a sorcerer and holding his own. Leon was further away taking on several women and a bandit.

Gwaine looked around and saw a sword coming at him from his left. He brought his sword up quickly and blocked it, only to find that the sword was being held by a woman. She was pretty with long black hair tied back out of her face and she wore armor instead of a dress. She held her sword in such a way to reveal that she knew how to use it. Gwaine couldn't keep back a cheeky smile as he brought his sword back and got ready to block whatever she threw at him next.

"Well hello, beautiful." He greeted, bowing slightly without taking his eyes off her or getting out of a defensive stance.

The woman didn't say anything. Instead, she brought her sword around with a shout and swung at his side. Gwaine easily brought his own sword around and blocked it.

"Come on now," he whined good-naturedly, blocking as she kept trying to kill him, "I haven't even said anything wrong yet." He ducked as her sword swung through the air where his head had been. He brought his foot out while she was distracted and tripped her. He stood up and held his sword to her throat. "You could at least give me a chance."

"I'll give you a chance to die." The woman finally replied. "Finish me off, it doesn't matter. You won't be alive much longer. Morgana will be queen." The woman smirked cruelly. "And it's all thanks to that stupid servant."

Gwaine felt anger growing in him as the woman confirmed Merlin's part in the attack. Gwaine started to run his sword through her, but he stopped at the last second. He sighed, knowing he could never kill a woman, even if she had just tried to kill him. The woman smirked again.

"I see Camelot's knights are so easily distracted by a pretty face." She taunted.

Gwaine didn't reply. Instead he brought his sword back and kicked her in the head hard. The woman gasped before falling unconscious. Gwaine sighed. He really didn't like doing that to a woman, but he had no choice. At least this way she wouldn't be able to fight for a little while.

Pushing the woman out of his mind, Gwaine turned and hurried along, trying to find Merlin amidst the fallen bodies and all the fighting people. He defended himself when he had to, but he held back deliberately. He had his orders, and even if he hadn't been ordered to find Merlin he still would have tried. He wasn't going to leave Merlin alone, especially when he was enchanted.

He drew his sword back out of a bandit's body and pushed the dead man to the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, Gwaine saw a flash of red and brown. The knight spun around and saw Merlin walking through the fighting as if he was on a stroll through the park.

"Merlin!" Gwaine shouted, blocking another sword and running after his friend. "Merlin!"

Merlin seemed not to hear Gwaine's shout. He walked on, followed slowly by a still-fighting Gwaine. He had just felled another opponent when the knight heard a little girl's scream. Gwaine spun around and saw a little girl about six or seven years old was surrounded by three large bandits, all with their swords pointed at her. Gwaine started to run at the bandits, when a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Hleap on bæc!"

The three bandits suddenly flew backwards in the air, crashing to the ground where they laid still. Gwaine could only stare as Merlin slowly lowered his arm and ran toward the little girl.

**Spell Translations **

**Hleap on bæc—**Leap on your back! _(I know that it's Morgana that uses this spell and Merlin doesn't say anything to make people fly backwards, but for the purpose of this story he needed to say something so Gwaine would notice. Just thought I'd mention that.) _


	11. Chapter 11: Fighting Back

_**I am so sorry that this chapter has taken so long to get up! It was giving me trouble because I kept trying to fit stuff in one chapter so I could move on to the good stuff, but my hands just refused to go along with my rushing, so there you have it haha. Anyways, it's a nice semi-long chapter that should explain a bit about what's going on with Merlin. **_

_** T**__**hank you all so much for the reviews, story alerts, and story favorites. I can't begin to express how much they mean to me. Thank you all so much!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or anything related to it. **_

_Chapter 11: Fighting Back_

_Morgana smirked, enjoying this more than she could say. She nodded at Merlin and turned back toward her army and said three simple words for the start of the battle. _

"_It is time."_

Merlin stayed close to his queen as the men and women of her army poured into the street of the Lower Town, setting fire to the houses as they went. It didn't take long for the townspeople to begin racing from their houses toward the citadel in a panic.

"Kill them if they fight back." Morgana yelled.

"What if they're in the way?" one of the passing bandits shouted back.

Morgana just shrugged in answer and a grin grew across the bandit's face. Merlin just looked around, frowning slightly as he watched the houses burn and the people running in fear. A man ran out of a burning house, a scythe in his hand, and charged at the invading army. He never made it far as a sorcerer sent a killing curse at him. The man's eyes grew wide as he fell face down to the ground, dead.

Merlin walked over to the dead man and turned him onto his back. Merlin looked into the man's lifeless eyes and studied the man for a moment. He felt sick as he forced himself to stop looking at the man. He recognized the deceased as a farmer, a family man. Merlin got to his feet, trying to keep his eyes off the man's body, when a hand fell on his shoulder.

The warlock turned quickly to find Morgana standing behind him. He stared at her for a moment, suddenly feeling very wrong. Her hand was still on his shoulder, and it suddenly felt as hot as fire. He brushed her hand off and stepped backwards. A sudden pain spread across his head and he gasped, grabbing his head in one hand.

"Wh…what's going on?" he gasped, shutting his eyes against the pain.

Morgana frowned as she realized Merlin was fighting back against her spell. She didn't understand how; the spell was one of the more powerful she knew of. And yet Merlin was fighting it and was coming out from her power. She looked down at the dead man's body and understanding hit her. Merlin knew the man and the man's death was helping Merlin realize what he was doing. Morgana could not let him break free.

"Áfæstne mín galdor." She chanted, her eyes flashing gold.

The pain suddenly disappeared and Merlin dropped his hand. He looked up at Morgana and his eyes flashed a deep red. A cruel smile spread across Morgana's face when she saw that her spell had worked. It wasn't time for Merlin to be released. Not just yet.

"What do you wish for me to do, my Queen?" he asked, bowing respectfully.

"Stay out of the way of the fighting," Morgana ordered, "Use your powers from the sidelines to help our army. When I call for you, come to me. But until then stay out of the way."

"I will do as you say, my Queen." Merlin replied with a nod.

Morgana smirked, proud of her handiwork on the manservant. She turned on her heel, her long black dress swishing as she moved through the crowd, sending knights, guards, and townspeople flying around as she went. Merlin watched her go before turning to walk along the burning houses. He stepped over the dead man's body without looking down.

He walked along the outsides of the battle, throwing a few of Camelot's knights and guards when it seemed they were winning over his Queen's army. He studied the battle, waiting eagerly for his Queen to call him. A girl's scream suddenly echoed across the battleground. Merlin looked around until he saw a familiar little girl being chased by three of his Queen's men.

Merlin frowned and followed after the girl and her pursuers. He recognized her from somewhere, but he couldn't remember. The girl suddenly tripped and let out another cry. As she looked around frantically, the answer suddenly came to Merlin. Amaya. That was who the girl was. She was the one who had asked if he was going to visit her when he returned that morning! Amaya scrambled to her feet and tried to run, but the three men had formed a circle around her. Tears poured from her eyes as the men pointed their swords at her.

A pounding spread across Merlin's head again and he grabbed at it, trying to stop the pain. Memories suddenly raced across his mind. Amaya and a group of children sitting around him laughing as he told stories. Amaya running up and hugging him. Merlin giving Amaya a bouquet of flowers.

Amaya let out a scream and Merlin jerked his head up. He saw the terror on her face as one of the men prepared to run her threw. He reacted instantly.

""Hleap on bæc!" he shouted. His hand raised on its own and his eyes flashed gold.

The three men surrounding Amaya flew backwards as if punched by an invisible hand. They crashed to the ground and lay unmoving, their chests completely still. Amaya sniffled as she looked around in confusion. Merlin ran toward her, shouting her name, and she clearly recognized him as she ran toward him as well.

"Merlin!" she shouted as she jumped into his arms. "Merlin!"

"Shh, you're all right, Amaya." He soothed as she buried her head in his chest. "It's all right."

"Where's Momma?" she whimpered.

"She's up in the citadel." Merlin replied, looking around quickly.

The battle was raging even more than before. Fire and spells flew everywhere. Swords clanged and dying men and women screamed in agony. The sounds of the screaming townspeople still sounded, though they had grown less now as they either made it to the safety of the castle or died in the s streets.

"I want Momma." Amaya cried, her tears staining Merlin's jacket.

"Don't worry, Amaya." Merlin said quietly. "I'll get you to your mother."

Amaya just sniffled and curled her hands into Merlin's jacket. Merlin looked around, noticing that Morgana's army was getting the best of the knights and driving them back toward the castle. He turned around and saw Gwaine fighting another bandit. He started to throw the bandit away, when his Queen's orders echoed through his head. He was to help her army, not Camelot's.

'But it's Gwaine!' A voice argued in his head. 'He's your friend!'

'My Queen has ordered me though.' Merlin argued back.

A sudden pain spread across his head and Merlin almost dropped Amaya who was still crying against his chest. Merlin shut his eyes against the pain and bit back a groan. Amaya didn't seem to notice his sudden attack of pain and kept crying against his shoulder, growing more scared as the battle continued around them.

A hand grasping Merlin's shoulder forced him to open his eyes, despite the pain that racked his head. He spun around, stumbling backwards as he grew dizzy. He managed to keep his balance though and blinked twice to clear the sudden blurriness. A knight of Camelot stood in front of him, looking at him worriedly.

"Are you ok, Merlin?" Gwaine asked.

"I…I'm fine." Merlin stammered. "What are you doing here Gwaine?"

"Looking for you." Gwaine replied, his eyes looking around to make sure no one was sneaking up on them. "We have to get to the citadel."

"I…I can't." Merlin replied, shaking his head as the pounding grew worse. "I'm…I'm supposed to be…"

"You're supposed to be coming with me." Gwaine replied, pulling on Merlin's arm.

Merlin stumbled slightly as the knight pulled him along, avoiding the fighting as best he could. He was forced to stop though, when a man in a midnight blue cloak stepped in front of him. Gwaine brought his sword up, slightly at a loss of what to do as the man held no weapon and Gwaine, despite his love of fighting, was against fighting unarmed men.

"The Lady Morgana wishes you to meet her in the middle of the Lower Town." The man's voice echoed in Merlin's head and the pain grew worse, forcing him to close his eyes against the pain.

"I don't want to hurt you," Gwaine said uneasily, his sword at the ready. "Get out of our way."

The sorcerer didn't reply, just stared past the knight at Merlin.

"Wh…what?" Merlin stammered.

His head felt like it was on fire, and something kept telling him to go with the man to Morgana, his Queen. His queen? Merlin's eyes shot open in surprise. Gwen was his queen, not Morgana! His eyes flashed red and stayed that way before fading away to gold then back to his normal blue. The sorcerer's eyes opened wide in shock and admiration.

"You are strong to fight such a spell." The sorcerer said in his mind. "But Morgana is not yet finished with you. Come along quietly and you will not be hurt."

"No!" he exclaimed, tightening his grip on Amaya who was shaking against his chest.

"Merlin?" Gwaine asked, looking back at him nervously.

"Gæle þes cniht." The sorcerer chanted quickly, holding his hand up toward Merlin. "Áfæstne níwfylle sé þonne galdor."

"No!" Gwaine shouted, vainly trying to get in front of Merlin as a blast of purple light leaped from the sorcerer's hand.

Merlin saw the spell coming, but before he could put up a shield he remembered Amaya. He couldn't risk his shield failing and her being hit. Thinking fast, Merlin did the only thing he could. He turned and jumped to the side, clutching Amaya tightly. He hit the ground and turned, landing on his back so the girl in his arms was unharmed.

For a moment he thought he had avoided the spell, but a sudden warmness began to spread through him and he looked down. To his horror, his left foot was glowing purple and the light was slowly moving up his body. Merlin tried to fight back, but the spell was to powerful. His eyes shut and when he reopened them, they were glowing red once more.

**Spell Translations**

**Áfæstne mín galdor**—Strengthen my spell.

**Hleap on bæc**—Leap on (your) back!

**Gæle þes cniht. Áfæstne níwfylle sé þonne galdor**." —Enchant this boy. Strengthen anew the previous spell.


	12. Chapter 12: Hopes Dashed

_**I am sooo sorry this chapter has taken so long in getting up. I had a really busy few weeks and then when things started quieting down, my computer broke and I spent several days trying to fix it before having to take it back to let proffesionals fix it. Then learned the harddrive had quit working so I had to get a new computer. Then I got really into this series called "Ranger's Apprentice" and have been reading them for hte past two weeks. I finished the last one today so that should be the end of all the distractions. **_

_**I hope this chapter is good, it really gave me trouble because I couldn't figure out how exactly Gwaine would take it. I hope I did the characters justice and stayed in character (even if the only one who should be in character here is Gwaine.) Hope ya like it!**_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing but little Amaya and the random sorcerer. **_

_Chapter 12: Hopes Dashed_

_The three bandits suddenly flew backwards in the air, crashing to the ground where they laid still. Gwaine could only stare as Merlin slowly lowered his arm and ran toward the little girl._

Gwaine stood there a few moments, thoughts racing through his mind. Merlin had just used magic. A frown spread across his face as the realization hit him fully: his best and closest friend had magic and hadn't even told him. Gwaine had told Merlin about his nobel background-something only a few in the world knew-and Merlin hadn't even trusted him enough to tell him that.

_'Magic is illegal.' _A voice said. '_He was probably scared you would turn him in.' _

_'I would never do that!' _Gwaine argued, not even caring that he was arguing with himself. '_He's my friend, I would never do anything to hurt him!'_

_'He doesn't know that.' _

Gwaine frowned and didn't reply. He was hurt that Merlin hadn't trusted him with this secret, but he could understand, though he didn't have to like it. Afterall, Gwaine had tried to run that old sorcerer through and had told Merlin about it-convineantly leaving out that he had been made a fool by an old man. Now, Gwaine had no problem against magic. He figured it was like a sword and could be used for good or bad. Of course, he would never say that or else Arthur would have his head and lecture him for a good part of the day about the "evil's of magic."

Merlin having magic just prooved Gwaine's theory. Merlin didn't have an evil bone in his body. Even under a spell the man couldn't do anything evil. Gwaine had seen him send those men flying away from the little girl. A spark of hope lit inside Gwaine as he silently prayed that Merlin had overthrown the spell.

A sudden movement behind him cut his thoughts off. Gwaine spun around, bringing his sword up just in time to block a vicious swipe from a bandit that had attempted to catch him off guard. A shocked look spread across the bandit's face as he brought his sword back away; he had thought the knight had been unaware and would be an easy target. His hands were sweaty as he swallowed nervously, eyeing the grin that spread across the knight's face.

"I don't take kindly to backstabbers." Gwaine said, a small grin darkening his face.

He brought his sword around toward the bandit's left side. The bandit just barely managed to block, but the strength of the blow startled him, causing him to loosen his grip on his sword ever so slightly. Gwaine brought his sword back and went on the attack, blow after blow falling on the bandit. The fight lasted several minutes, but it felt like an eternity to the bandit before Gwaine's sword finally got inside and slid into the man's chest. The bandit's eyes widened as Gwaine pulled his sword out. The bandit collapsed to the ground and Gwaine turned away.

His eyes scanned the battleground for Merlin and he felt a flicker of fear when he saw his friend in the same spot holding hte little girl in one hand with his other clutching his head, obviously in pain. Gwaine didn't stop to think and ran toward his friend, placing a hand on his shoulder when he reached him. Merlin's eyes opened and he turned around, stumbling as he did. Merlin blinked and Gwaine looked at him worridely, not knowing what was going on.

"Are you ok, Merlin?" he asked, his hand still on his friend's shoulder.

"I...I'm fine." Merlin stammered. "What arey ou doing here Gwaine?"

"Looking for you." Gwaine replied. He let his hand fall from Merlin's shoulder and looked around warily, not wanting to be caught by surprise. "We have to get to the ciadel."

"I...I can't." Merlin replied, shaking his head as the pounding grew worse. "I'm...I'm supposed to be..."

"You're supposed to be coming with me." Gwaine replied, pulling on Merlin's arm to make the man follow him.

Gwaine wasn't sure what was going on with his friend. He had hoped that Merlin had managed to shake the spell off, but it was clear that it still had a hold over his friend. He pulled Merlin-who was still clutching the crying little girl to his chest-toward the gate that lead to the courtyard. Merlin stumbled slightly behind him, but he regained his footing easily enough and put up no fight to try and escape. They had only made a few yards, however, when a man in a midnight blue cloak stepped in their way.

Gwaine pushed Merlin back behind him and brought his sword up defensivly. The man was a stranger and, judging by the cloak, Gwaine guessed he was a sorcerer. But he made no move to attack the man. For all he knew, the stranger could be a harmless man simply asking for help. Though he highly doubted that from the man's calm and seemingly careless manner, Gwaine decided to wait and see what the man had to say.

"I don't want to hurt you," Gwaine said uneasily, shifting slightly. "Get out of our way."

The man didn't even look at the sword or Gwaine. Instead, he looked past him to where Merlin stood. Gwaine looked between the two, realizing that they were making eye contact and seemed to be carrying on a silent conversation.

"Wh..what?" Merlin stammered and Gwaine looked at him curiously, not understanding what he was asking. He saw that Merlin had stumbled sideways slightly, moving out from behind Gwaine.

Then, to Gwaine surprise, Merlin's eyes glowed a dark red, then gold, before fading back to blue. A look of determination and anger passed through his eyes as he glared daggers at the sorcerer as he yelled out "No!" and tightened his grip on the shaking girl in his arms. Gwaine breathed a sigh of relief as he realized that the spell had been broken. Then, remembering that he had thought that earlier as well, he looked back a bit nervously.

"Merlin?"

Though his head was turned away from the sorcerer, the man was still in the corner of his eyes. He saw the man's mouth move and heard the words in a language he didn't understand. He turned back around, suddenly wishing he had finished the man off the second he stood in front of them. A purple light lept from the sorcerer's hand and hurried through the space between him and the knight.

"No!" Gwaine shouted when he saw that the spell was moving straight toward Merlin.

He tried to jump in front of the spell, but he wasn't quick enough and the spell flew past him, hitting Merlin's foot as he attempted to dodge it. Gwaine could only stare at his friend as the purple light moved up his body and his eyes shut tightly. His breath caught in his throat as Merlin's eyes opened, revealing a glowing red.

Gwaine backed up slightly as Merlin got to his feet, the little girl still clenched to his chest. She had started crying again, obviously frightened by the sudden fall and the bright light that had glowed around her and Merlin. He looked back at the sorcerer and saw a grin spreading across the man's face. Merlin looked over at the sorcerer and again Gwaine thought that they were holding a silent conversation.

His first thought was to run, to escape while he had the chance, but he was loyal to his friend and wouldn't leave him alone. Gwaine brought his sword up and pointed it at the sorcerer, holding it underneath the man's chin.

"Release him." he ordered, his voice low and dangerous.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." the sorcerer spoke for the first time, seemingly unconcerned about the sword that was under his chin.

"Do it or I'll run you through!" Gwaine barked, anger and fear for his friend slipping into his voice.

"And what makes you think I will let you do that?" the sorcerer asked, a sly grin breaking across his face. The sorcerer looked away from Gwaine for a moment before looking back at the knight, the grin growing across his face.

"Gebind sceatt fæðmas." Gwaine heard the words and fear suddenly clutched at him as he recognized Merlin's voice.

He turned to look at his friend and saw to late the ball of red light that was flying from Merlin's hand. Gwaine's eyes widened-matching those of the little girl in Merlin's arms-as the spell hit him in the chest. Gwaine fell to the ground and felt his arms snapping to his side. What felt like rope seemed to tighten around him, but Gwaine could see no ropes.

He started to struggle, but the more he struggled the tighter the invisible bindings became. Gwaine finally stopped struggled and breathed hard, trying to catch his breath back. He saw Merlin walking over to him and, with one arm still holding the girl who was now frozen in fear, reached down and dragged him to his feet.

"Get walking." Merlin ordered, his voice full of power and what sounded like hate.

"Where to?" Gwaine asked, his shoulders drooping slightly as he saw his friend's eyes glow red once more.

"The courtyard." Merlin replied, then pushed Gwaine hard to get him started.

Gwaine stumbled, but managed to keep his balance. He could hear the sorcerer following behind, laughing quietly. Merlin made no sound except the sound of his boots hitting the stone ground. Gwaine took a deep breath and headed toward the courtyard, anger growing in him with every step.

_'Whoever did this to you, Merlin,' _he thought, '_I will make them pay.'_

**Spell Translation**

**Gebind sceatt fæðmas-** _Bind his arms._


	13. Chapter 13: Kill the Girl

_**Thank you so much for the reviews and story alerts on the last chapter! It means a lot to know there are still people interested in this story. **_

_** I want to apologize for any misspellings or grammer mistakes in this chapter and the last. I'm back using WordPad until I can get microsoft on my new computer and I have no spell check. Bleh. haha **_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **_

_Chapter 13: Kill the Girl_

_...Merlin's eyes opened, revealing a glowing red. _

Merlin blinked twice and the red slowly faded back to blue. He lay on the ground for a moment, just staring up at the sky, silently beating himself. How could he have been so stupid to try to disobey his queen? Amaya buried her face in his chest and he could feel her shaking as tears stained his jacket once more.

_"Get to your feet, Merlin." _the sorcerer's voice filled his mind.

Merlin thought about resisting and staying on the ground, but he knew this man worked for his queen, and if he was for his queen then his words were to be obeyed as well. Merlin slowly got to his feet. He shifted Amaya slightly in his arms, wishing she would quit her crying. Briefly he thought about putting her down and leaving her. He looked down at the girl, saw the tears in her eyes, and something in the back of his mind told him to hold on, to save the girl.

Merlin quickly let go of the idea of leaving the girl. He shifted her again, his arms growing tired from her weight. He looked over at the sorcerer, barely aware that Gwaine was still there, just watching them.

_"Morgana wishes for you to meet her in the courtyard." _the sorcerer spoke in his mind. "_She requires you to help her take the throne room."_

_"If that is what my queen wishes." _Merlin replied silently.

"Release him." Gwaine suddenly ordered, breaking off the silent conversation. He stepped between Merlin and the sorcerer, his sword held underneath the latter's chin.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." the sorcerer replied, unconcerned about the sword under his chin.

"Do it or I'll run you through!" Gwaine barked and there was anger mixed with fear in his voice.

"And what makes you think I will let you do that?" a grin broke across the sorcerer's face. Silently, he added to Merlin, "_Bind his arms. Morgana will want him as a prisoner."_

Merlin didn't reply. Instead, he brought his hand up and pointed it at his friend's back.

""Gebind sceatt fæðmas."

A ball of red light flew across the short distance, hitting Gwaine in the chest as he spun around to face Merlin. The knight fell to the ground, his arms instantly binded by the magic. Amaya let out a little gasp and froze in fear at the sight of her long friend using magic. She had grown up believing magic was evil, and here she was in the arms of a magic user. She looked up at Merlin's face and took a deep breath. Tears slipped from her eyes, but she refused to make a sound, scared that this new Merlin would turn on her like he had turned on Gwaine.

_"Pick him up and let's go. We've wasted enough time already." _The sorcerer ordered.

Merlin nodded and walked forward, the frightened girl still firmly in his arms. None to gently, he reached down and dragged Gwaine to his feet.

"Get walking." Merlin ordered, letting go of the knight. As he spoke, his eyes glowed red, proof that the spell was stronger then ever.

"Where to?" Gwaine asked, his shoulders drooping in defeat.

"The courtyard." Merlin replied stiffly and pushed Gwaine roughly to get him started.

Gwaine stumbled, but kept his balance. Behind them the sorcerer laughed quietly, enjoying Morgana's handiwork. The small group made their way to the courtyard. Often they had to step over lifeless bodies, and occasionally over ones still moving, though to wounded to live for long. The fighting had all moved on, with Camelot's knights being pushed back into the courtyard and into the citadale.

As Gwaine walked into the courtyard, he saw that the battle had ended, and it hadn't gone well for Camelot. Off to one side, a group of about fifteen or twenty knight stood, weaponless and surrounded by guards. Gwaine scanned the group and, to his relief, saw that Arthur, Elyan, Leon, and Percival weren't among them.

All throughout the couryard and down into some of the corridors, the bandits, women, and sorcerers of Morgana's army stood around. A healer was off to one side, close to the gateway tending to the wounded. Gwaine couldn't help but notice that the wounded were all Morgana's army. None of Camelot's wounded had been cared for.

In the center of the couryard stood Morgana. She was looking around, nodding her head every so often and smirking in pleasure at how her plans were going. Merlin pushed Gwaine slightly, turning him toward his queen. Seeing no other choice, Gwaine walked in the direction he had been pushed.

They were about ten yards away when Morgana turned around. Her smirk grew bigger as she saw Merlin behind Gwaine, followed by the sorcerer she had sent after the enchanted manservant.

"I trust all went well?" Morgana said, directing her question to the sorcerer who followed behind.

"He freed himself from your spell, my Queen." the sorcerer announced with a small bow. "But the spell has been put back on and reeinforced. He should not be able to fight it again until you permit it."

"Very good, Salazar." Morgana smirked and turned to Gwaine.

Slowly, she walked around him, placing her hand on his shoulder gently.

"How nice to see you again, Sir Gwaine." She said, putting as much hate as she could in his name and title.

"You won't feel to bad if I say the feeling's not mutal, will you?" Gwaine asked sarcastically, wishing he had use of his arms.

Morgana just smirked again and playfully slapped Gwaine's face. Gwaine stared her in the eyes, refusing to back down from his enemy. The smirk left Morgana's face as she stepped away from the knight. Her eyes flashed gold and Gwaine felt himself flying backwards before crashing to the ground.

Morgana and the sorcerer, Salazar, as well as several others laughed as Gwaine shook his head and struggled to rise. The spell binding him, however, tightened across his chest and arms as he struggled, until he fell back panting. The knights looked on sadly, while the guards and the rest of Morgana's army laughed at Gwaine's problem.

Merlin looked at the knight on the ground, watching him with a confused look on his face. Something in the back of his mind was telling him to stop this, to help Gwaine. At the same time, however he knew he shouldn't go against his queen. She must have a reason for wanting the knight on the ground.

Amaya watched all that was going on and sobbed quietly. She didn't know what was wrong with Merlin, but she knew she was in danger. Seeing no way out of it, she did the only thing she could: she buried her head in Merlin's chest and prayed that he would go back to normal and keep her safe.

"Who are you holding, Merlin?" Morgana asked when she quit laughing and noticed the little girl in Merlin's arms.

"Her name's Amaya." Merlin answered, looking away from Gwaine and at his queen.

"So why are you holding her?" Morgana asked glaring at the child who refused to look at her.

"She was scared." Merlin replied, suddenly uneasily. "Three of your men were going to kill her. I couldn't just leave her to die."

Amaya lifted her head slightly at these words, hoping beyond hope that Merlin was back to normal.

"Put her down, Merlin." Morgana ordered, her voice hard and cold. "The only hostages we need are the knights. Any others caught outside the castle are to be killed."

Merlin froze as he heard that. Amaya, recognizing that they were talking about her, grasped his jacket tighter in an effort to stay with him. Something in Merlin was telling him to disobey his queen, to free Gwaine and take Amaya and run. But there was something else telling him to put hte girl down and let his queen kill her. Merlin stumbled backwards, bringing one hand up to hold his suddenly aching head. He didn't know what was going on, or why his head was hurting so bad.

"Do it Merlin!" Morgana barked, anger clear in her voice.

The pain increased as Merlin struggled to figure out what was wrong, what he was suppose to be doing. He knew he should be obeying his queen. His life was made to obey his queen's every command. Through painfilled eyes, he looked down at the scared girl in his arms and knew he couldn't obey this command. He couldn't let the innocent girl in his arms die. An extra strong piercing pain raced across his head. He let out a cry of pain and fell to his knees, startling everyone in the courtyard.

"Merlin!" Gwaine shouted, struggling once more to sit up. But once again the spell tightened and restricted him from rising.

"What's going on?" Morgana asked, her eyes wide in shock.

"He's fighting the spell." Salazar said quickly, stepping toward her. "It's the girl. He obviously cares for her and you telling him to let her die is causing him to disobey and fight the spell."

"I thought you said you strengthened the spell so he couldn't fight back." Morgana snapped, suddenly fearful that her plan was going to fall apart.

"I thought I did." Salazar replied, his eyes moving between Merlin and Morgana. Merlin let out another cry of pain and the sorcerer hurried to finish. "He is strong. If this keeps up much longer he will completly break free."

"So what do we do?" Morgana asked, regretting that she hadn't done more research on the spell and its side affects.

"Spare the girl and he will come back to you without having to reinforce the spell once more." Salazar replied.

Morgana frowned, clearly not liking the idea of appareing weak. But she needed Merlin for the final part of her plan, so she reluctantly nodded. Quickly she walked the few yards between her and Merlin and knelt down beside the still in pain man.

"Forget what I said, Merlin," she said quietly so no one else could hear them. "The girl can stay. We can put her with the knights and once the kingdom is mine you can come back for her."

Merlin looked up at her, still cluching his head in one hand.

"Really, my queen?" he asked hesitantly.

"Just put her down and take her over to be guarded with the knights." Morgana replied with a nod.

A grin broke across Merlin's face and his hand dropped from his head.

"Thank you my Queen." he said and rose to his feet, his eyes flashing red once more.

Morgana smirked, pleased that he had fallen back into her spell so quickly. She rose and stalked back to where Salazar was waiting in the center of the courtyard. Merlin got to his feet and walked over to where the knights were being guarded.

"You'll be just fine." He whispered to her. "I'll be back for you."

Amaya sniffled, not wanting to leave him. He set her on the ground and she grabbed back at him, but he gently removed her hands and led her to one of the knights. The knight looked at Merlin with eyes full of surprise and the anger of betrayal.

"Take care of her." Merlin said, holding Amaya's hand out to the knight.

The knight looked down at the girl, then back up at Merlin and nodded. He reached out for hte girl's hand and took it gently, bringing her to stand beside him. He smiled down at her and she buried her face into his leg, looking out only to see Merlin walking away.

Merlin turned away from the captive knights and little girl and hurried back to where Morgana, Salazar, a woman clad in armour, and another man stood discussing something. They were talking quietly, trying not to be overheard. Merlin stood a few feet behind, uncertain if he should interrupt or not. He stood there awkwardly for a few minutes before Morgana finally turned back and saw him.

"Ah, Merlin." She said with a cruel grin. "Are you ready now?"

"What do you want me to do, my Queen?" Merlin asked, bowing slightly.

Morgana smirked before she replied.

"I want you to get us into the citadale quickly."

Merlin nodded and looked at her, his eyes flashing the dark red once again. Gwaine, still laying on the ground where he had fallen, felt his heart miss a beat as Merlin grinned back and answered.

"As you wish, my Queen."


	14. Chapter 14: Waiting

_**This chapter is really short, and I wasn't even sure if I should write it, but I'm really happy with how it turned out. I hope you like it too. :) **_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. **_

_Chapter 14: Waiting _

The heavy wooden doors of the room slammed shut and the bolt was placed across, holding the doors firmly locked from the inside. The large room was packed full with the remaining knights-many of them wounded-and men, women, and children from the Lower Town.

King Arthur stood leaning against a pillar, his breathing coming in heavy gasps. He held his right hand against his left arm, trying to stop the blood that flowed from the cut he had recieved from one of the women warriors. His eyes scanned the room, taking in the strength of his knights and the condition of the people.

Gaius and Gwen, along with several men and woman from the Lower Town, were kept busy moving from wounded to wounded. Arthur saw them wrapping a bandage around Perecival's leg where he had recieved a nasty burn courtasy of one of the many sorcerers outside the castle. Elyan was lying down on the floor, his eyes closed as he tried to sleep off the concussion he had gained when he dodged on the spells that had flown in the costly battle. Leon had, once again, managed to make it unscathed from the battle, save for a small cut along his right cheek.

Arthur scanned the room again, hoping he might have missed what he was looking for the first time. But his second scan came up negative. There was no sign of Merlin and Gwaine. Arthur sighed, knowing that they had been captured and were probably dead by now.

"You'll need a bandage for that arm." Gwen said quietly, coming up from beside him.

"I'll be fine." Arthur insisted. "Keep the bandage for one of the knights. We must be running short by now."

Gwen nodded. "We are, but you're wounded and that blood needs to be stopped."

Arthur reluctantly nodded and let go of his arm, letting his wife wrap a bandage tightly around the cut.

"You're lucky," she said as she tied the bandage off. "It's just a small cut, nothing serious at all."

Arthur nodded distractedly.

"They'll be all right." Gwen said, stepping in front of him and holding his hands in hers.

"Who will be?" Arthur asked, trying to play dumb.

"I know you're worried about Gwaine and Merlin." Gwen rubbed her thumb on the back of Arthur's hand in a comforting gesture. "They'll be all right. They always are."

She smiled softly and Arthur returned his smile, though it wasn't big and didn't last for long. He sighed and squeezed her hand before moving away to where Leon was standing beside Percival and Elyan.

"What do we do now, Sire?" Leon asked as Arthur joined their group.

"We have no choice but to wait and see what Morgana plans to do next." Arthur said, clearly not liking the idea in the least.

"What about the captive knights?" Percival asked then, hesitantly, added, "And Gwaine and Merlin?"

"We can't help them, not now at least." Remorse was eveident in Arthur's voice and regret was in his eyes as he continued. "We're to weak, and our first priority is to keep the people safe. We need to get them and the more seriously wounded knights out of here."

"I can have Sirs Felix, Rodney, and Horace lead the people through the secret passageway in the armoury." Leon said. "They've all been wounded and are unable to fight, but they can still walk and help the rest get through."

"Good," Arthur nodded. "Have them start..."

Whatever Arthur had been about to say was cut off as an explosion rang throughout the room and the heavy wooden doors blasted inwards, sending pieces of wood and debris across the room. People screamed and scattered, some went flying and crashed to the floor as the pieces of the door hit them.

Arthur shielded his eyes and turned his back, feeling splinters flying around and hitting him. When the debris finally settled, he turned back, drawing his sword as he did. What he saw caused his heart to skip a beat and his breath to catch in his throat.

Standing where the giant doors had been just seconds before stood Merlin, his hand outstretched and his eyes glowing gold.


	15. Chapter 15: Betrayed

_**Woo! Three chapters in one day! I'm back on track! haha I'm actually really excited for this story again, so it should be finished soon. Hopefully I'll have more up tomorrow, though that depends on if I get busy or not. Hope you all like it! Sorry for all the cliffhangers, but I just love those things! haha :P**_

_**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own nothin. :(**_

_Chapter 15: Betrayed_

_"I want you to get us into the citadale quickly." _

_Merlin nodded and looked at her, his eyes flashing the dark red once again. Gwaine, still laying on the ground where he had fallen, felt his heart miss a beat as Merlin grinned back and answered. _

_"As you wish, my Queen." _

Two of the bandits lifted Gwaine to his feet and stood on either side of him, waiting for their orders. Stumbling slightly, he straightened up and looked around. The men and women of Morgana's army were milling around, mixing in together. A group of twenty or so were left behind to guard the knights and Amaya.

"Shall we put him with the other knights, my lady?" Salazar asked as he, Morgana, and Merlin walked over to where Gwaine was held.

"No," Morgana said thoughtfully. "He'll go with us."

"If I may ask, why?" Salazar said with a frown.

"He is one of Arthur's closest knights," Morgana explained. "It is only fitting that he should be there to see the demise of all he holds dear."

"Really?" Gwaine asked in mock surprise. "I didn't realize I held you dear."

Morgana glared at him and slapped him hard across the face. Gwaine's head snapped to one side, and when he turned to face her again he had a cocky grin on his face.

"Is that the best you've got?" he taunted.

Morgana took a quick breath and drew her hand back to hit him again, when Salazar stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

"We must be going, my lady." He said, holding tight to her wrist. "We don't have time to waste on this nobody."

Morgana glared at him and wrenched her wrist from his grasp.

"If you ever touch me again," she snarled, her eyes flashing dangerously. "It will be the last thing you ever do."

Salazar nodded and bowed his head slightly, anger crossing his face briefly. Morgana glared at him a moment more before turning on her heels and stalking off toward one of the corridors. Salazar and Merlin followed behind her, while Gwaine was pushed forward bye one of his two guards.

Gwaine walked down the corridor, his arms still tightly bound by Merlin's spell. Morgana clearly didn't except any of Arthur's men to be guarding the way from the way she and Salazar strolled down the corridor. Merlin was following close behind, with Gwaine and his guards next. Behind them the rest of Morgana's army followed, weapons at the ready.

They reached the locked doors where the citizans of Camelot were taking refuge fairly quickly. Morgana and Salazar stepped forward, with Merlin, Gwaine, and his guards a few steps behind. The rest of the army filed in all around them, ready to pour into the room when the doors opened.

"Shall I tear the door down?" Salazar asked, already raising his hand.

"No." Morgana said, placing her hand on his arm. She turned and waved for Merlin to join her.

"Yes, my queen." Merlin said, stepping forward.

"I want you to tear this door down." Morgana ordered.

"Yes, my queen." Merlin replied and stepped in front of Morgana and Salazar.

"áþ**þes **dor tófiele." Merlin chanted, holding his hand out.

His eyes glowed gold and Gwaine could only watch as the door suddenly blew forward as if hit by a battering ram. The door literally exploded, splinters of wood flying everywhere into the crowded room. Gwaine felt his breath catch in his throat as he saw Arthur staring across the space at Merlin who was slowly lowering his arm.

"Very good, Merlin." Morgana smirked, walking forward and laying her hand on his shoulder. "Excellent job."

"Thank you, my Queen." Merlin replied and Gwaine swore he heard everyone in the room gasp.

"Merlin?" Arthur said, his voice echoing in the silent room.

Gwaine could see the hurt, pain, and betrayal in Arthur's eyes and knew that the King's thoughts must be racing, and heading in a bad direction. Gwaine looked between Arthur and Merlin, who had remained completly still, seemingly unaware of Arthur's inner turmoil. He looked over at his guards and saw that they to were distracted. Taking the chance, Gwaine opened his mouth to yell.

"He's under a spell, Arthur!" he shouted. "Everything he's doing isn't of his own will!"

"Shut up!" The guard on his left snapped, hitting him in the gut.

Gwaine doubled over and stumbled slightly. The other guard pushed him from behind and Gwaine fell to the floor, landing on his knees. He looked up, glaring angerly at his tormentors. He looked back and saw that Arthur had torn his gaze from Merlin and looked in his direction.

"Listen to me." He pleaded, a kick to the kidney stopping him from saying anything else.

"Let them go, Morgana." Leon ordered, stepping forward with sword drawn when he saw that his King wasn't going to.

"And why should I do that?" Morgana asked teasingly.

She stepped away from Merlin, letting her hand drape away slowly. Merlin turned to face her, waiting for further orders, but she was focused on Leon as she walked forward a few steps. Salazar took a few steps as well, but stayed well behind her. Leon started to answer, but shut his mouth as he saw the look in Merlin's eyes, a look of devotion to Morgana...to his queen.

"What's that?" Morgana taunted, taking a step closer. "No answer, Sir Leon?" She noticed that everyone's gaze was more on Merlin then on her. "Ah, I see you are all more concerned about my new ally then in me."

She smirked and turned on her heel and walked back to Merlin, circling around him like a shark circles prey.

"Did you know you were harboring a sorcerer under your very nose, brother dear?" She directed the question to Arthur, who still looked to be in shock. "Who would have ever thought that simple little _Merlin _would be a sorcerer."

"What have you done to him, Morgana?" Gaius asked, stepping forward, anger in his eyes.

"I've done nothing, Gaius." Morgana smirked. "Merlin just decided that he'd had enough of my overbearing brother and decided to join the real heir to the throne."

"You lie, Morgana!" Arthur barked, finally snapping out of his shock. "You have no right to the throne and Merlin would never betray me!"

"Oh but he has, Arthur." Morgana said in an amused voice. "He has been practicing magic, after all."

"H...he..." Arthur was at a loss of what to say.

"I think this pleasent chat has gone on long enough." Morgana said triumphantly. She turned to Merlin and looked him in the eyes and said two simple words. "Kill them.

**Spell Translations**

**áþ****þes ****dor tófiele**- _Make this door collapse._


	16. Chapter 16: Shocked

_**Ok, this chapter isn't the greatest, but I hope I did the characters justice and stayed in character. **_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. **_

_Chapter 16: Shocked_

_Standing where the giant doors had been just seconds before stood Merlin, his hand outstretched and his eyes glowing gold._

Arthur could only stare as Merlin slowly lowered his arms and his eyes faded back to their normal blue. Merlin had magic. The revalation shocked Arthur to his core. He stumbled backwards slightly, his mind all but shutting down as he stared at his manservent, at his friend.

"Very good Merlin." Morgana smirked, breaking into Arthur's thoughts. He saw her walk around his friend, laying her hand on his shoulder. "Excellent job."

"Thank you, my Queen." Merlin replied.

A gasp filled the room, and Arthur's eyes widened. His queen. Merlin had betrayed them-betrayed him-to serve his evil half-sister. To serve the woman who had tried more then once to destroy Camelot.

Arthur was barely aware of what was going on around him. All he could think about was the hurt he felt from Merlin's betrayal. Anger began to rise in him as he stared across the room at his once friend. He could scaresly believe that Merlin had magic and had betrayed him for Morgana.

Merlin had magic. Arthur shook his head slowly, not wanting to believe it. He didn't want to believe that his closest and most trusted friend had lied to him, had betrayed him, for years. But the proof was right in front of his eyes. He took a deep breath, trying to calm the anger that was growing from the hurt and pain he felt.

"He's under a spell, Arthur!" Gwaine suddenly shouted. "Everything he's doing isn't of his own will!"

Arthur tore his gaze away from the traitor and noticed, for the first time, that Gwaine was held between two guards, his arms straight down his side as if tied their without rope. Arthur watched as one of the guards snapped "Shut up!" at Gwaine and hit him in the gut, doubling Gwaine over. The other guard pushed Gwaine forward, dropping him to his knees. Gwaine looked up angerly at his guards, before turning back around and locking eyes with Arthur.

"Listen to me." he pleaded.

Arthur watched as Gwaine was kicked in the kidney, doubling the captive knight over. _He's under a spell. _Gwaine's words echoed in Arthur's head, and he remembered that Gwaine and Gaius had come to him just before the battle started to tell him that same thing. Arthur looked back at Merlin, trying to find some sign that he was under an enchantment. But he could find none.

"Let them go, Morgana." Leon ordered, stepping forward with his sword drawn.

He had seen the conflicting emotions crossing Arthur's face and the knight knew his King would be unable to function for awhile. Merlin's betrayl would be to much, Leon knew. It was almost to much for him as well. Over the years he had known Merlin, Leon had grown to trust the man and to respect him for his courage and, at times, wisdom in dealing with Arthur.

But now he could see that he had been taken for a fool. Merlin had betrayed them all for Morgana. Briefly, Leon wondered why, but then the revalation that Merlin had magic made the reason clear. Merlin had magic and Morgana was trying to return magic to Camelot. It would only be natural for Merlin, a magic user, to join another magic user. And yet, he had told Morgana to release _them_, both Gwaine and Merlin. He wasn't sure why, it had just come out.

"And why should I do that?" Morgana asked teasingly.

Leon started to answer her, but his eyes were drawn to Merlin before he could say anything. He looked into the servant's eyes and felt his shoulder's droop slightly at the look he saw. Merlin was looking at Morgana with devotion, the same devotion that Leon had seen in his eyes so many times when he was looking at Arthur after a big turning point in the king's life. Leon's mouth closed, knowing that the Merlin they all knew was gone.

"What's that?" Morgana taunted, taking a step closer to him. "No answer, Sir Leon?" She paused, as if just realizing that everyone's gaze was on Merlin and not herself. "Ah, I see you are all more concerned about my new ally then in me."

She turned on her heel and walked back to Merlin, circling around him like a shark circles prey. Merlin didn't seem to realize the threatening way she was walking around him, and simply looked at her, before looking curiously back over at Gwaine and then Arthur. Morgana stopped circling and stood beside Merlin and looked over at her half-brother.

"Did you know you were harboring a sorcerer under your very nose, brother dear?" she asked, her smirk still firmly in place. "Who would have ever thought that simple little _Merlin_ would be a sorcerer."

"What have you done to him, Morgana?" Gaius asked, stepping forward with anger in his eyes.

Arthur looked over at Gaius and saw, to his surprise, the anger in his eyes. The anger was directed at Morgana and not Merlin, he noticed, and Arthur realized that Gaius had known all along. Gaius had known Merlin had magic and instead of telling Arthur he had kept it secret, protecting the man.

"I've done nothing, Gaius." Morgana replied smoothly. "Merlin just decided that he'd had enough of my overbearing brother and decided to join the real heir to the throne."

Arthur's head snapped over to her and the shock that had overtaken him melted away.

"You lie, Morgana!" He barked. "You have no right to the throne and Merlin would never betray me!"

As he said it, Arthur realized it was true. Merlin may have magic, but he would never leave Arthur's side. Merlin had drank poison for him, offered his own life for Arthur's more times then Arthur could remember. Merlin would never betray Arthur by going over to his worst enemy if he was in his right mind. _He's under a spell. _Gwaine's words echoed in his mind again and Arthur suddenly believed them.

"Oh but he has, Arthur." Morgana said in amusement. "He has been practicing magic after all."

"H...he..." Arthur wasn't sure what to say.

He knew Merlin would never betray him by going over to Morgana, it just wasn't like him. But he had betrayed Arthur's trust, his friendship, by practicing magic. Arthur may not believe that Merlin was willingly betraying him by joining Morgana, but there was no denying that Merlin had betrayed him by practicing magic.

"I think this pleasent chat has gone on long enough." Morgana said triumphantly, pleased that she had rendered her half-brother speechless. She turned to Merlin and looked him in the eyes and said two simple words. "Kill them."

A frown crossed Merlin's face.

"All of them?" he asked.

Morgana looked around the room thoughtfully.

"Spare the people." she decided, realizing that she would need subjects. "Kill the knights, starting with Arthur."

"Yes, my Queen." he nodded and walked into the room.

Behind him, Morgana motioned for the two guarding Gwaine to push him into the room alongside the other knights. They nodded and roughly dragged Gwaine to his feet before pushing him roughly into the room past Merlin, who stopped walking to look over at Gwaine curiously.

Gwaine met his eyes at stopped walking, ready to say something to try and make Merlin fight the spell again, when a man's voice stopped him.

"Hleap on bæc!"

Gwaine felt himself rise from the floor and go flying across the room, hitting a group of knights and sending them all to the ground. Merlin frowned and turned around to see Salazar lowering his hand.

"Why did you do that?" he asked, still frowning.

"He was going to try and attack you." Salazar lied smoothly. "I was only trying to protect you."

"Oh." Merlin said, the frown dissapearing. "Thank you then."

"My pleasure." Salazar replied, nodding his head in a little bow.

"Why did you do that?" Morgana whispered, sure that Merlin would not hear as he walked across the room to stand in front of Arthur.

"The spell is shakey." Salazar explained, equally quiet. "If that knight had said anything, it might have shaken the enchantment once more."

Morgana nodded in understanding and turned back to watch her enemy be destroyed. A cruel grin spread across her face as Merlin stood five feet from Arthur, who just stood there, anger and hurt in his eyes. She had planned on killing him herself, but seeing his closest friend turn against him and kill him would be much more rewarding.

Merlin raised his hand, ready to cast the spell that would end Arthur's life. He looked back at Morgana, making sure that he was doing the right thing. Morgana nodded and Merlin turned back to face Arthur, who was looking at him. Merlin met Arthur's eyes and saw the anger, hurt, and-to his surprise-sorrow.

"Why?" Arthur asked quietly.

For a second, Merlin wasn't sure he heard him right.

"Why what?" he asked when he realized what Arthur had said.

"Why are you obeying Morgana?" Arthur asked, trying not to let his anger seep in.

Arthur took a deep breath, hoping his anger at Merlin's betrayal wouldn't seep into his voice. He was mad, there was no denying that, but if what Gwaine had said about Merlin being enchanted was true-and Arthur believed that the knight was, for once, right-then he had to stay calm and find a way for Merlin to break the spell. If he didn't he would die.

"Because she's my queen." Merlin replied promptly, his hand lowering slightly.

"Why though?" Arthur pressed. "What has she ever done for you?"

Merlin opened his mouth to reply before shutting it, not sure how to answer. He looked at Arthur curiously, his hand falling back to his side. Neither man said anything and a frown appeared on Merlin's face as he stared at his old friend.

"Kill him, Merlin!" Morgana shouted, not understanding why he hadn't done so already.

"Why is Morgana your queen?" Arthur asked quickly, seeing Merlin's hand starting to rise again. "She's just using you, Merlin. She's not your queen."

"B...but..." Merlin stammered, a sudden pain crossing his head once more.

He looked at Arthur and memories began pouring in one after another. Arthur confiding in Merlin about his plans to marry Gwen. Merlin using magic time after time to save Arthur's life. Morgana trying to kill both him and Arthur. Merlin commanding the dragon to leave Camelot. Arthur going after the flower to save Merlin after he'd been poisoned.

Merlin gasped and grabbed at his head with both hands as the pain overtook him. He almost fell to his knees, but Arthur reached out and grabbed onto him, holding him up. His breath was coming fast gasps as memory upon memory raced forward. The pain spread across his head, increasing in strength until the world was blurred around him.

"Kill him now Merlin!" Morgana barked, her voice loud and angry. "Kill him!"

"Come on, Merlin." Arthur whispered, suddenly fearful as he didn't understand exactly what was going on.

"Kill him!" Morgana shrieked.

Merlin's eyes snapped opened and he gasped, his eyes dark red.


	17. Chapter 17: Power Untold

_**I want to say I'm sorry for any spelling mistakes that I have made in the past few chapters, and that I'm sorry for the mistakes I'm going to throughout the rest of the story. I'm back on WordPad without a spell check and it doesn't look like I'll be getting Microsoft back anytime soon. So please bare with me and ignore any spelling and grammer mistakes.**_

_**Disclaimer: I still own nothing. **_

_Chapter 17: Power Untold_

_Merlin's eyes snapped opened and he gasped, his eyes dark red. _

Arthur stepped backwards, his eyes widening in shock at the sight of Merlin's eyes glowing an evil red. Leon, Percival, and Elyan-who had stood despite his concussion-all gasped, their swords drawn, though none were sure they would be able to run their friend through.

Gwaine had been helped to his feet, his arms still bound by Merlin's spell, and stood watching, his breath caught in his throat. He prayed to everyone he could think of that Merlin was breaking the spell. He couldn't see Merlin's face, but he knew from the collective gasp that Merlin's eyes were glowing once more.

Arthur couldn't tear his eyes from Merlin. He could only watch as Merlin slowly walked forward, his eyes glowing blood red. Merlin walked until he was a goot away from Arthur and stared at him, his hands still on his head as the pain continued to race across his head. Merlin's eyes closed once more and he groaned slightly in pain.

A few moments passed before Merlin's eyes opened again. His eyes glowed red, then they suddenly started to burn a fierce gold. Arthur felt his breath catch as the gold slowly faded to Merlin's normal blue. Merlin blinked once, then his eyes widened and he stumbled backwards, fear filling his eyes.

"Arthur!" He gasped fearfully.

Arthur let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He knew he should feel angry at his servant-his friend-but he was to realieved to care at the moment. He stepped forward and put one hand on Merlin's shoulders, frowning slightly as the man flinched fearfully.

"It's good to have you back." Arthur said and a grin lit Merlin's face at those words.

"What do you think you're doing?" Morgana shrieked from behind them. "Kill him now, Merlin, before I do it for you!"

Arthur let his hand drop from Merlin's shoulder and brought his sword up at the ready. Merlin turned slowly, anger suddenly feeling his eyes. Morgana realized quicky that Merlin had once more broken her spell. Beside her, Salazar started to step forward, but Morgana held up her hand to stop him.

"He is powerful, my lady." Salazar whispered, awe in his voice. "The spell increases in power and it's hold should be permenant if placed two times. To break it completly means he is more powerful then we ever thought."

"No matter." Morgana replied, not bothering to keep her voice down. "He will die. ábradwe hine!"

Her hand shot up and her eyes glowed gold as a golden ball of light shot across the room toward Merlin.

"Bordrandas!" Merlin shouted, his hands shooting up and his eyes glowing gold.

Bright blue light flowed from his hand, forming a shield in around him and the people of Camelot. Morgana's spell hit the shield, causing a blinding bright light. Everyone shielded their eyes, only removing them when the light slowly faded. A gasp rang out from both sides as they realized Merlin's shield still stood and Morgana's spell was gone.

"How?" Morgana breathed. That had been the strongest killing curse she knew, and Merlin's shield had simply obsorbed it like a sponge.

"You don't know who you're messing with, Morgana." Merlin said quietly.

His eyes flashed gold and, even though he hadn't said a word, the shield began to move, wrapping itself around each of the knights and people of Camelot. The blue shield formed around the individuals, protecting them. Arthur looked around, seeing the shield protecting his friends and people. He looked down and saw that the blue light had formed around him as well.

Arthur looked up in awe, and saw that no shield had formed around Merlin. He stood there, the only vulnerable one. Merlin stood tall in the center of the room, his shoulders back, with an aura of power surrounding him. Arthur could almost swear he felt the room tingling with electric power.

"How did you do that without reciting a spell?" Salazar asked, his voice low and thoughtful.

Merlin just shrugged, not sure how to answer. He was sure that the sorcerer wouldn't take "I just did" as an answer.

"So you know a few petty tricks." Morgana spoke, trying to hide the fact that Merlin's shield had shook her up. "Those tricks won't save you're life or my brothers."

"I'm going to give you one warning, Morgana." Merlin said. His voice was low, but the threat was easy to hear. "Leave and never return. I don't want to have to kill you."

"You, kill me?" Morgana laughed. "And what makes you think you can kill me? You're nothing but a servant."

"I have more power then you could even begin to imagine." Merlin wasn't being boastful, he was just telling the truth. "This is your last chance, Morgana. Please take it."

He looked at her, his eyes silently begging her to take his offering and leave and never return. She started to tell him that that would never happen, but something in his eyes stopped her. She looked at him for a few seconds, trying to figure out what it was about him.

"You're just a simple boy with a little magic," Morgana began, though her voice signaled that she wasn't sure of what she said. "What makes you think you have the power to defeat me?"

"I can defeat you," Merlin said quietly, "Because I am Emrys."

**Spell Translations**

**ábradwe hine!- **_Kill him!_

**Bordrandas-**_Shields! _


	18. Chapter 18: The Final Battle

_**Thank you all soooo much for all the reviews, story alerts, and favorites! I can't begin to say how much it means to me to know people like this story. I hope you like this chapter. Just two or three more and it's over. I should be done tomorrow sometime. **_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize**_

_Chapter 18: The Final Battle_

_"I can defeat you," Merlin said quietly, "Because I am Emrys." _

Morgana's eyes widened at the name.

"No." She whispered fearfully. "You can't be. Emrys is an old man."

"A simple aging spell." Merlin told her calmly. "Didn't you ever wonder why Alator** turned against you when he saw me?"

Morgana's eyes widened even more as she remembered how Alator had blasted her off her feet after bending down to study Merlin.

"No." She whispered. Then, louder, "No! This is a mistake! You can't be Emrys!"

Merlin just gave her a small, sad smile. Even after all she had done to him, he didn't want to see her dead. Gone not to return yes, but not dead.

"Think about it, Morgana." Merlin's voice was calm and low, no hint of fear anywhere. "I'm to be your doom, but if you leave here and never return you won't have to die."

Morgana glared across at Merlin and knew from teh way he was looking at her that everything he said was true. She knew that Emrys-that Merlin-was destined to kill her. But destiny could be changed, that much she was sure of.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, hate pouring from her.

"I wanted to Morgana," Merlin said and sadness filled his eyes. "The only one I wanted to tell more was Arthur."

"Why didn't you then?" Morgana repeated, and this time there was a hint of sadness in her voice as well.

"I don't know." Merlin replied honestly, his head lowering in shame. "I wish I had. Then maybe things would be different."

"It's to late for that now." Morgana snapped, her anger growing anew.

Merlin had known how alone she had felt when she first discovered she had magic. He had known she had magic, and yet he had kept his own a secret from her. Yes, he had led her to the druids, but that had just ended in their deaths and her going back to being the adoring ward of Uther.

He had left her alone. He had left her to fend for herself, to be terrified of being discovered alone. It was his fault everyone regarded her as evil. If he had just told her he had magic, if he had just helped her, then she wouldn't have been so eager to go with Morgause. If he had just told her, everyone would be different.

But he hadn't, and now he would pay.

"I know." Merlin's voice was barely a whisper.

He looked up and met her eyes. In that moment he knew there was no going back. One of them was going to die, and he knew it wasn't going to be him. He took a deep breath and straightened up, holding his head up high. In his eyes, the crowd could see the sadness and regret.

Arthur stood behind Merlin, the blue shield still around him. He watched and listened, not entirely sure what was going on. His-as well as everyone in the area-breath was in his throat as he waited for the battle that was sure to start. He didn't have long to wait.

"ácwele hine!" Morgana shouted.

Her hand shot up, a ball of silver light shooting out and headed toward Merlin. Merlin calmly raised his own hand and his eyes flashed gold. The silver light faded away, as if it had never been there. A gasp came from the onlookers. Morgana's eyes widened at the power a mere servant held.

"ábréoðe!" She shouted, then quickly threw another spell. "ádíede!"

Two seperate balls of light shot toward Merlin, who raised his hand and shouted "áblgan!" A bright blue light shot from Merlin's hand, forming a shield in front of him. Morgana's spells hit the shield, bounced off it and flew back toward her. Her eyes flashed gold and the spells vanished into sparks.

Merlin looked up sadly at Morgana, and raised both his hands.

"ábradwe híehræding." Merlin said quietly, sorrow in his voice.

He brought both hands up and pushed them out toward Morgana, who's eyes had gone wide in fear. Gold light began to form in Merlin's hands and as he pushed them palms out, the light started to fly across the room, heading straight for Morgana.

"Bordrand!" she shouted, panic in her voice.

Blue light, similar to the one that still surrounded the people of Camelot, formed in front of her, creating a shield. The gold light hit it, causing sparks to fly. For what felt like hours but was really just seconds the sparks flew, before fading away revealing a shocked Morgana. Merlin lowered his hands, his face blank.

"Looks like you aren't so powerful after all, are you _Emrys?" _Morgana spat the name and threw her hand up, yelling, "Forbærne! Ácwele!"

A fire ball appeared in front of her hand and she pushed her hand forward, sending the fire flying across the room toward Merlin. Merlin saw it coming and at the last minute threw his hand out, palm facing him. The whole room gasped as the fire appeared to simply melt into the back of his hand. Merlin couldn't help but grin slightly, remembering the first time he had seen Nimueh do what he had just done.

"No." Morgana gasped. "Only the holder of life and death can do that."

"Really?" Merlin asked, genuinly surprised. "I always thought it was just cause I practiced it so much."

"It was you who killed Nimueh." Morgana breathed. "Morgause told me she was murdered, but she never said who did it."

"It was self defense." Merlin replied sadly. "She tried to kill my mother and then Gaius when it was my life I offered."

"When was this?" Morgana asked, sudden fear in her voice. She knew how powerful Nimueh had been, Morgause had told her all about the ex-High Priestess.

"Back when Arthur was bit by the Questing Beast." Merlin replied.

Arthur's head snapped up at that. He hadn't known Nimueh was dead and he certainly hadn't known that it was Merlin who killed her. He remembered how powerful Nimueh had been and he could only guess at how powerful that made Merlin. Holder of life and death? What was all that about? Arthur wasn't sure, but his manservant was going to have a lot of explaining to do if...when...he got out of this.

Morgana saw Merlin hang his head down, shamed at all the killing he had done since coming to Camelot. She knew she had no chance of winning this duel if she played fair, but if she sent a curse at him when he wasn't looking then she could change destiny.

"Forlor!" she shouted, her eyes glowing a bright gold.

She thrust her hands out, forcing the magic out from her and toward Merlin. Merlin heard her yell the spell and threw his hands out, not even bothering to recite a spell. His eyes changed to gold and another blue shield appeared in front of him. Morgana's spell hit it, rebounding off and hitting a window to the right of them. The window shattered, raining glass down on the people underneath it, who screamed and ran as the glass cut through their skin.

Merlin knew this had to end before someone got seriously hurt. He rose his hand slowly and locked eyes with Morgana. She could see the sorrow in his eyes and she knew she was about to die.

"Milde ábradwe híe." He chanted.

A bright golden light filled the room, starting at Merlin's outstreched arm. He pushed his hand forward gently, sending the light flying toward Morgana.

"Bordrand!" she shouted, and the blue shield was back.

The golden light collided with the blue shield, but instead of creating sparks, the gold light went straight through the shield. Morgana's eyes widened in fright and she backed up, trying to escape the golden light. But it was no use. The light reached her and surrounded her, forming to her body and sinking in.

"Emrys." she whispered, her eyes locking with Merlin's.

He nodded slowly and she could see the sorrow in his eyes, even as they glowed gold with magic. Then her eyes closed and she fell to the floor, dead.

****I'm not sure if I spelled his name right, but I'm talking about Alator of the Catha, the one who kidnapped and tortured Gaius to get information about Emrys out of him. **

**Spell Translations**

**ácwele hine-**_Kill him. _

**ábréoðe-**_Destroy _

**ádíede-**_To put to death; to destroy;mortify; kill_

**áblgan-**_Deflect; turn away_

**ábradwe híe****hræding- **_Kill her quickly_

**Bordrand-**_Shield_

**Forbærne! Ácwele!-** _Burn up! Destroy!_

**Forlor-** _To destroy_

**Milde ábradwe híe-**_ Mercifully kill her_


	19. Chapter 19: A Long Story

**_I don't like this chapter that much, but hopefully it's not to bad. Just one more chapter and this story is finished! Thank you soooooo much for all the reviews and support of this story! You all rock! :)_**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing. _**

_Chapter 19: A Long Story_

Morgana's lifeless body fell to the floor, and Merlin slowly lowered his arm, his eyes fading back to blue. He stared at her sadly, before looking up to meet the eyes of her army leader, Salazar.

"The next step is up to you." He said, holding his head high despite the sorrow that weighed him down.

"We will go in peace, Emrys." Salazar said, glancing down at Morgana's body. He looked up and made eye contact with Merlin, adding in his mind, "_I know the prophecies, but be warned: if magic isn't restored to Camelot by next year, I will be back. And I will finish what Morgana started. _

_"If you come back," _Merlin replied, also in his mind. "_Then you will join her." _

The two glared at each other for a moment, before Salazar reluctantly nodded and turned to face the army that still stood in the corridor. He made a gesture with his hand and the army slowly filed away and out of Camelot.

Merlin stood watching them until he was sure they posed no threat. Once he was sure none were going to turn back and fight, his shoulders drooped and the aura of power he had been giving off dissapeared, turning instead to one of sorrow and fear. He turned slowly to look around the room.

The people were all staring at him in shock. Many of them had grown up believing that all magic was evil, and yet here was Merlin, someone they all knew and that most loved, who they didn't think had an evil bone in his body, using magic to kill Camelot's greatest enemy. He saw a few friendly faces who didn't look as if they cared, but most of the people looked betrayed and angry.

His eyes scanned the room until they landed on Gaius and Gwen who stood side by side near the front of the group of townspeople. Gaius simply nodded at him, pride in his eyes. Merlin looked hesitantly over until he was making eye contact with Gwen. He could see that she was still shocked, and there was hurt in her eyes. But as he looked at her, she gave a small smile and nodded at him, showing him that she still supported him.

He looked over at the knights next. They had wasted no time now that the battle had ended and were slowly advancing on him, swords drawn. He saw no friendly faces among them, just anger as they advanced to slowly surround another magic user.

Merlin scanned the knights until he spotted Gwaine, who stood behind the advancing knights, his arms still bound together, with a huge smile on his face. He shrugged his shoulders, silently asking to be released. Merlin gave a little smile and his eyes flashed gold, freeing Gwaine who instantly pushed his way through the knights and went over to stand beside Merlin, throwing his arm around his friend.

"That was brillant, Merlin!" he exclaimed, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room. "I've never seen anything like that!"

Merlin gave his friend a small smile, grateful that at least one person was on his side. The knights had stopped as Gwaine had started talking, but now they approached once more. Gwaine let his arm drop from Merlin's shoulders and reached for his sword, only to find it wasn't there. A moment to late he remembered that he had dropped it when he had been captured. Frowning, he turned to face the knights, daring them with his eyes to take one more step. The knights hesitated and looked to their king for orders.

Arthur stood in front of Merlin, with Leon, Percival and Elyan-who was leaning heavily against Percival-behind him. Merlin looked to the three knights first. Percival met his eyes first and nodded, giving him a small smile of approval. Elyan looked into Merlin's eyes for a few moments, remembering how his father had died and Gwen had nearly joined him because of magic. But then he looked past Merlin and saw Morgana's still body lying on the floor. He looked back at Merlin and nodded, knowing Merlin was good, no matter if he had magic.

Merlin looked at Leon next and saw anger, confusion, and a bit of fear in his eyes. Leon had grown up hating magic and believing it was evil, but now seeing it in someone he had thought to be so innocent, so good, he wasn't sure what to do anymore. He locked eyes with Merlin for a moment, before looking beside him to his King.

Merlin followed him and nervously looked at Arthur. The young king was aware that all eyes in the room were on him, but he didn't look at any of them. Instead, he made eye contact with Merlin. Neither moved for a moment, each looking at each other. Arthur was barely holding in his anger and his hurt. Merlin broke eye contact first, but Arthur saw a hint of fear in his eyes before they broke contact.

"I believe I need a moment alone with my manservant." Arthur broke the silence.

He didn't wait for anyone to respond. Instead, Arthur strode forward and grasped Merlin's arm tightly, practically dragging him out of the room. Gwaine started to follow, but a quick shake of Merlin's head stopped him. Reluctantly, Gwaine stayed where he was and watched as Merlin allowed himself to be dragged out of the room.

Arthur dragged Merlin up two flights of stairs, letting his anger boil until he was furious. When he was about to burst, he pushed Merlin into a guestroom and slammed the door shut behind them.

"How could you betray me like that?" Arthur shouted,his voice echoing in the room.

"I swear, I never betrayed you." Merlin argued. "It was Morgana. She put an enchantment on me. I would never betray you!"

"You practice magic!" Arthur barked. "You don't consider that betraying me?"

"I had no choice!" Merlin shouted back, his calm appearance now completly fading away. "If I hadn't practiced to control my magic then I would never have been able to control it!"

"What is that suppose to mean?" Arthur asked, stepping forward, anger burning in his eyes. "What was all that about being the holder of life and death? How long have you been practicing magic? Who else knows?"

"I was born with magic!" Merlin shouted, grabbing at his head in frustration. "If I hadn't come to Camelot and practiced, then I wouldn't be able to control it and you would be dead hundreds of times over!"

Arthur frowned at that, but his anger was still up and he wasn't about to let Merlin off easy.

"Why Camelot of all places?" He asked, stepping forward to intimidate Merlin. "What do you mean I would be dead?"

"How do you think you've made it through all the magical beast attacks?" Merlin asked, refusing to be intimidated. "If I wasn't here you would have been dead the first beast attack. Haven't you ever wondered how you killed beasts that could only be killed with magic?"

Arthur shook his head, trying to hold onto his anger. He had wondered about that. He remembered the griffin and the dragon, two beasts that could only be killed by magic and yet he and Lancelot had managed to kill them with just spears. He took a step back and looked at Merlin, glaring at him through eyes that showed the hurt he felt.

"I'm sorry for lying to you, Arthur." Merlin started, seeing that Arthur's anger had started to fade. He was uncomfortably aware of the sword at Arthur's side, his hand instinctivly on the hilt. "I never wanted to, but what choice did I have? If you had known I had magic then you would have had to execute me or go against your father. I couldn't let that happen."

He took a deep breath, not sure how Arthur would respond to what he was going to say next. "And then when your father died and you became king I was so sure I could tell you, but everytime I got up the courage to tell you, you would go on about how magic is evil and that all magic users must be killed. I wanted to tell you, Arthur, honestly I did. I just couldn't."

Arthur didn't say anything. He turned around and walked over to the window and leaned up against it. He looked out across Camelot and watched without really seeing Morgana's broken army scattering across the countryside. The knights that had been captured where milling around the courtyard, joined by the townspeople who were slowly making their way out of the castle.

"Why?" he asked, his voice quiet.

"What?" Merlin asked, surprised by the sudden change in Arthur.

"Why have you risked your life to save mine so many times?" Arthur clarified, still not turning.

"Because you're my friend," Merlin replied instantly.

Arthur turned at that and looked at Merlin. Neither said anything, just looked at each other. Finally Arthur moved away from the window to stand in front of Merlin. Merlin swallowed nervously, expecting to feel a sword in his gut at any moment.

"What is this Emrys deal?" Arthur finally asked.

Merlin hesistated before sighing. The time for secrets was over, he knew, so it was time to tell Arthur everything.

"That's what the Druids called me." He explained. "For years it has been prophecised that Emrys would stand by the Once and Future King's side, protecting him and returning magic to the united land of Albion."

"And who is this Once and Future King?" Arthur asked, vagually remembering hearing that prophecy once when he was little.

"That would be you." Merlin replied, raising his eyes to look at Merlin.

Arthur raised his eyebrow, clearly unsure whether or not to believe him. Deciding to return to that point later, he asked another question.

"How many times have you saved my life?"

"That's a long story." Merlin replied, suddenly uncomfortable.

"We have time." Arthur replied and walked across the room to sit down in a chair.

He motioned to the the other one and Merlin reluctantly sat down across from Arthur. He knew he would have to tell Arthur the full story some time, but now that that time was here, he wasn't sure he was ready for it. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"I'm waiting." Arthur said, leaning back.

Merlin sighed and began his tale.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"I don't like this." Gwaine said for the fiftieth time.

He stood in the room the battle had taken place in. Leon, Percival, Elyon, Gwen and Gaius were the only ones in the room, save for the servants that came and go to clean the debris. Morgana's body had already been moved, and if it wasn't for the broken door, you wouldn't have known that a battle had taken place just an hour ago.

"It's been far to long." Gwaine continued, stopping in his pacing to stare out the empty doorway.

"It's only been an hour, Gwaine." Elyan sighed, wishing his head would stop aching.

"An hour and a half." Gwaine corrected, still staring at the doorway.

"Arthur just wanted to talk to him, Gwaine." Gwen tried. "Merlin will be fine."

"You don't know that." Gwaine replied, turning to look at them.

"Really, Gwaine, you must calm down." Gaius said, taking a step toward the worried knight.

"How can I calm down when Arthur might be killing Merlin as we speak?" Gwaine was pratically shouting.

"Arthur won't kill Merlin." Percival spoke up.

"How do you know?" Gwaine snapped, his worry causing his temper to be short.

"They're friends." Percival said simply.

"Well I'm going after them." Gwaine decided and turned on his heel. "He said he wanted a moment. An hour and a half is way longer then a moment."

"Leave them be, Gwaine." Leon ordered, trying not to let his own nervousness into his voice. "The King will come back when he's ready."

"Anybody else coming?" Gwaine called over his shoulder, completly ignoring Leon.

The small group glanced at each other before hurrying to follow Gwaine. Despite what they had said, they were all worried, even Leon. They caught up to Gwaine quickly and followed slightly behind him, opening every door as they passed trying to find Merlin and Arthur.

They had climbed two sets of stairs when a sudden shout of "You're what?" filled the air, coming from the first door on the right. Gwaine rushed over, throwing the door open. He hurried into the room, expecting to see Merlin dead on the floor. Instead, he saw Arthur and Merlin standing in front of chairs they had overturned when they jumped to their feet at Gwaine's inturruption.

"I told you he wouldn't kill him." Percival said as the rest of the group filed into the room.

"What is this about?" Arthur asked angerly. "I said I wanted a moment alone with Merlin."

"That was an hour and a half ago Princess." Gwaine replied, walking to Merlin's side. Quietly, he asked, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Gwaine." Merlin replied with a big grin.

Gaius couldn't stop the smile that came to his face as he realized that everything was going to be all right. Merlin and Arthur picked their chairs up and the group all stood in silence for a few minutes.

"So," Gwaine started awkwardly, "What were you two talking about?"

"Merlin here," Arthur said, glaring playfully at his friend. "Has just been telling me that not only is he the most powerful sorcerer to ever live but that he is also the last dragonlord."

Cries of "What?" and "You're kidding!" as well as a "Awesome!" from Gwaine filled the room. Gaius just grinned slightly, seeing how uncomfortable his ward was from all the attention.

"It's a long story." Merlin muttered, shuffling awkwardly.

"We've got time." Gwaine said, moving over to collapse on the bed.

Merlin sighed. It was going to be a long night.


	20. Chapter 20: Three Months Later

_**Well, here it is, the last chapter. I just want to say thank you soooooooo much for all the support that you guys have shown this story. It really means a lot and I'm glad so many have enjoyed it. I'm sad it's over (and also that I killed Morgana off. She's one of my favorite characters, especially when she's evil! haha) but all things must come to an end eventually. :) **_

_**Disclaimer: I still own nothing and never will. **_

_Chapter 20: Three Months Later_

Merlin walked down the street, trying to ignore the stares and whispers that followed him. It had been three months since he had revealed himself in the battle against Morgana and a lot had changed. Magic was slowly returning to Camelot, with only magic used for evil purposes being outlawed. Three weeks prior, Arthur had named him Court Sorcerer, though Merlin still served as his manservant as well. He found it easier to watch after the prat that way.

Other then those changes, the way the people treated Merlin had changed as well. There were some who still treated him the same, but those were usually the ones who he had been friends with before he had revealed himself. For the most part, the people now treated him with suspicion and whispers and stares followed him wherever he went. It was unnerving to say the least, but he was getting use to it and in a few years, he knew, it would all go back to normal. Or, as normal as life could get in Camelot.

Merlin resisted the urge to turn around and look at thet people who whispering and kept walking. It didn't take him long to reach the small garden he was heading for. Opening the small gate, he slipped inside and headed for the far side where a tree was growing for shade. Underneath the tree was about ten children, all between the ages of five and eleven.

"Merlin!" Amaya shouted when she spotted him.

She broke away from the group and ran over to him, jumping into his arms and hugging his neck.

"Hey Amaya." He laughed, moving her over to his hip so he could carry her. "How are you?"

"I'm great!" Amaya replied with a big smile. "Momma is going to let me help Aunt Mary as much as I want from now on!"

"That's great." Merlin laughed.

He walked over to join the rest of the kids, who had grown silent and fidgeted eagerly. Some of the older ones still looked at him nervously, but they made no attempt to leave. A bench was underneath the tree and he sat down on it, Amaya on his knee looking eagerly up at him. The rest of the kids sat down on crossed legs in front of him, some leaning forward eagerly.

"What story do you all want to hear today?" He asked with a smile.

"Tell the one about how the prince got donkey ears!" a little boy called out.

"Or the one about how the prince turned into a simpleton!" a girl added with a laugh.

"How about I tell both?" Merlin asked, and his suggestion was met with cheers. He settled back against the tree, and took a breath before beginning his story, a goofy grin on his face. "Once upon a time there was a prince named Artie and a manservant named Merl..."


End file.
